Bruno Guimaraes may have a release clause in his contract with Newcastle United, but not all sources are in agreement on that front.
Following reports from Globo Esporte in Brazil that Bruno Guimaraes has a £60m release clause in his contract, with those close to the deal apparently confirming the existence of the clause, Lee Ryder cast some doubt on the claims for Chronicle Live.
Ryder reports that sources at Newcastle United have disputed that any kind of release clause exists for the midfielder, unlike in 2024, when he definitely had a £100m clause that expired in June of that year.
If a £60m release clause does exist, and if it has the same deadline, Arsenal would now only have a couple of days to activate it. But Newcastle are evidently confident that there’s no such clause.
Ryder adds in another piece that Arsenal believe a £65m bid could be enough to do a deal for Guimaraes, but they’re yet to make a formal approach. There’s been no club-to-club contact, with all talks taking place via intermediaries at this stage.
The player has two years left on his contract, which makes this a good time to either sell or extend his deal. But that obviously raises the possibility that much of the media talk is being driven by an agent trying to get his client a wage increase.
Until direct club-to-club contact begins and Arsenal submit an official offer, it’s hard to say how serious this pursuit really is.
Arsenal are certainly in the market for a midfielder this summer, and Guimaraes is coming off the back of a good season.
Whilst Newcastle struggled on the whole, the Brazilian international scored nine goals and assisted eight in 41 appearances before jetting off to the World Cup, where he has three assists in three games.
At 28, the player should still have a few good years ahead of him, though Arsenal will be reticent to pay anything like the amount they put up for a 24-year-old Declan Rice.
It’s unlikely Guimaraes would be worth a huge amount another four or five years down the line, so that’s going to affect how much the Gunners will be willing to offer.
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