Arsenal have reached an agreement in principle to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle – and have set aside a day next week for the Brazil midfielder’s medical.
It is understood that the fee agreed for the Newcastle captain is £77million plus add-ons.
The 28-year-old’s contract has not yet been signed and finer details are to be sorted but Daily Mail Sport can confirm a deal is now very close.
The Magpies had been reluctant to part with their captain after losing other key players – such as Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon – this summer but the Premier League champions have gone all out to get the deal done.
As revealed by Daily Mail Sport, Guimaraes dropped a bombshell on the Newcastle hierarchy several weeks ago by informing them of his desire to leave. And he did not fly with the rest of the Toon squad to their pre-season training camp in La Manga on Friday.
The Magpies also saw manager Eddie Howe leave the club yesterday after four and a half years.
He would become Arsenal’s fourth signing of the summer, after they made Piero Hincapie’s loan deal from Bayer Leverkusen permanent, signed free agent former Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier and struck a £36m deal for Club Brugge’s Greece winger Christos Tzolis.
Arsenal first tried to sign Guimaraes in 2022 from Lyon, but Newcastle stole a march on the midfielder, who has won 48 caps for his country and played in this summer’s World Cup.
