Bruno Guimaraes’ price tag is likely to prove problematic for Manchester City amid talk of positive conversations with Arsenal.

Martin Blackburn reports for The S*n that while Manchester City do admire Bruno Guimaraes, his £100m price tag is likely to prove a problem for them.

Simon Collings had written for The Standard at the weekend that Arsenal and City remain interested in Guimaraes, as well as Paris Saint-Germain in France. But he certainly won’t come cheap.

It’s been widely reported that Guimaraes has a £100m release clause in his contract, valid until the last week of June, and the Brazilian media revealed further updates on the clause last week.

The £100m fee can reportedly be paid in three instalments, making the prospect slightly more realistic for Arsenal and City.

The Standard claim some clubs in the race also believe that an £80m deal might be possible. Though Newcastle sources deny that.

Football insider Team News and Tix reported on Patreon last week that there have been positive talks involving Arsenal and a potential transfer.

“I was told within the last couple of days that there’s been positive conversations,” the report claimed (via afcstuff).

“I’m not saying it’s done or it’s anywhere close to done, but the club are feeling positive on it, is what I was told.”

Quite what encouragement Arsenal have received in these rumoured talks remains to be seen. But initial reports suggested the price tag was also likely to be an issue for them.

David Ornstein recently wrote that it’s not certain that Arsenal or any other club would see value in the player’s £100m clause, and the Gunners may not be interested at all if they decide to pursue an ‘8’ instead.

Guimaraes can play as a ‘6’ or an ‘8’, but both Arsenal and Newcastle see him more in the deeper role.