Arsenal have made a direct approach for Bruno Guimarães around the £55m mark, but Newcastle have shut the door for now. Fabrizio Romano said Arsenal reached out on both the player and club side, while Newcastle have insisted the midfielder is not available and still has two years left on his contract. The story is real enough, but it is still a stand-off rather than a deal.

Newcastle's position on Guimaraes

Romano was blunt about the state of play: "It's true that Arsenal made an approach for Bruno Guimaraes. It was a direct approach on player side and club side with Newcastle, so Arsenal have reached out for Bruno Guimaraes. My understanding is that their intention was to try to approach for a deal around £55m, but Newcastle are not selling the player for that fee. Newcastle closed the doors to this approach from Arsenal."

Ben Jacobs gave a similar picture, saying Arsenal had contact with Guimarães' camp and that there was "No contact with Newcastle as of Thursday evening, nor do #NUFC wish to sell." That is the key part of the story. Arsenal have tested the ground, but Newcastle's stance has been consistent enough to stop this from looking like a bid that is close to landing.

Why Arsenal keep looking at him

The attraction is easy to see. Declan Rice is already at Arsenal, and Guimarães fits the kind of midfield profile that adds power, control and output. He scored nine Premier League goals this season, started all three of Brazil's World Cup matches and registered three assists in the group stage.

He also finished the tournament strongly, with a 7.9 rating in his latest World Cup appearance and two goal contributions in that game. Across the group stage he had three assists, which is the sort of production that explains why Arsenal are pushing into this market at all. Newcastle may be refusing the sale, but the midfielder's output makes the interest straightforward to understand.

Arsenal were also considering him back in January 2022 when he was at Lyon, so this is not some random summer detour. The club have looked at him before, and this time they have gone as far as a direct approach.

The issue now is not whether Arsenal like him, because that part is obvious. It is whether Newcastle ever change their mind, and right now there is no sign of that. Their response has been to close the door, not leave it ajar.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →