Newcastle signing two midfielders as Arsenal push £65m Bruno Guimaraes bid

Arsenal’s pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes is gathering momentum, with Newcastle United understood to be giving serious consideration to a fee in the region of £65m for their captain — even as the club publicly insists the Brazilian is not for sale.

The Gunners opened talks earlier in the transfer window with a verbal offer of £45m, which Newcastle swiftly rejected. However, the North East club’s stance may be softening, particularly as they move to reinforce their midfield through other channels.

Newcastle have agreed a deal with Ajax worth £23m plus £3m in add-ons for 18-year-old Dutch midfielder Sean Steur, with the teenager expected to travel to Tyneside for a medical in the coming days. The paperwork is understood to be a formality, and Steur is set to feature for Eddie Howe’s side next season.

While Steur is widely seen as a replacement for Sandro Tonali — who has completed a £100m move to Tottenham Hotspur — Newcastle are also expected to open negotiations with Freiburg for Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi in the coming days, according to The Athletic. Manzambi impressed during the World Cup, and his potential arrival would give Newcastle further cover in the engine room.

The dual midfield recruitment drive has fuelled speculation that Howe’s side are quietly preparing for life without Guimaraes, should Arsenal’s interest prove impossible to resist. Football Insider reports that Newcastle are also willing to open contract extension talks with the 28-year-old this summer in response to the Gunners’ advances.

Guimaraes has just returned to Tyneside following Brazil’s 2-1 defeat to Norway in the World Cup round of 16, a tournament in which he registered four assists across five appearances. Domestically, he contributed nine goals and six assists in the Premier League last season and remains under contract until 2028.

His value to Newcastle is not in question, but at £65m, the club may find it difficult to turn down a significant profit on a player they signed for a fraction of that figure. Whether Arsenal can reach that threshold — and whether Guimaraes himself pushes for the move — will likely determine how the situation develops over the coming weeks.