Bruno Guimaraes’ future lies at Newcastle United as the club prepare to offer him a new contract.
That’s according to former Rangers and Scotland boss Alex McLeish, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the 24-year-old’s future.
On Saturday (15 October) Football Insider revealed Newcastle are preparing to make the midfielder the best-paid player in the club’s history.
Guimaraes, 24, joined Newcastle in January from Lyon for £40million and signed a contract that runs until 2026, worth around £120,000-a-week.
It is believed Newcastle are willing to offer Guimaraes a huge pay hike that would take him to around £200,000-a-week and extend his deal by two more years, meaning the club would end up paying him £60million in wages alone.
McLeish fears Newcastle will be unable to keep Guimaraes long-term if the club do not consistently qualify for the Champions League.
“They [Newcastle] are, in essence, the richest club in the world when you look at the people who are behind them,” McLeish told Football Insider’s Ben Wild.
“Obviously, there will be temptations when world-renowned clubs come in for your best players, certainly clubs who are more world-renowned than Newcastle are.
“Those clubs will be looking to prey on Newcastle. It’s one of the conundrums, the better Newcastle do, the more their players will be scouted by these huge, world-renowned clubs.
“The player might fit the bill for Real Madrid or Barcelona and they may believe they can get the player if they are at Newcastle and they don’t play Champions League football.
“At the same time as that, I’ve heard Bruno say he loves the place, he loves the people and that’s what you want to hear.
“You hope he can stick to that for the foreseeable future.”
