Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle United, October 2022
Recent reports have claimed that Newcastle could be forced to sell some of their star players this month and Bruno Guimaraes is one touted for an exit.
Eddie Howe conceded on Friday that he could not rule out a sale of any of his key assets due to the pressures of Premier League and UEFA finance rules.
“I can’t offer any assurance on [not selling Guimaraes and others]. Regardless of our Financial Fair Play situation or financial situation that would be the case because you can never tell what is going to happen in football,” Howe said in a press conference.
Guimaraes, 26, signed for Newcastle in January 2022 for £40m. He has gone on to rack up 86 appearances for the North East club, netting 11 goals and making nine assists in the process.
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, both Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona are very interested in signing Guimaraes.
It has been suggested that PSG would be willing to match the £100m release clause in the midfielder’s contract by paying it in three instalments.
Guimaraes’ preference would be a move to LaLiga, however, and a shock report has claimed he already has an ‘agreement’ over a move to Barcelona.
Barcelona or Real Madrid could sign Guimaraes on the cheap
According to reports from Spain, as cited by Sport Witness, PSG and Barcelona remain firmly interested in signing Guimaraes but the LaLiga champions have an advantage in the race.
It’s claimed that the Brazilian ‘has an agreement with Newcastle to leave for Barcelona or Real Madrid.’
That means that if either of the Spanish clubs bid for him, the Magpies would be forced to negotiate a fee ‘less than his £100m release clause.’
What works in Newcastle’s favour, however, is that Barcelona are going through a difficult time financially at the moment.
As a result, they ‘would like to include some players in their offer for Guimaraes,’ tryng to make the whole package worth €80m (approx, £68.7m).
The report adds that Newcastle ‘may need to sell some stars in the coming months’ but a January transfer is ‘ruled out,’ with a departure for Guimaraes ‘only to take place in the summer.’
Nevertheless, Barcelona could still test the Magpies’ resolve with a part-exchange offer for their star midfielder this month, while PSG could still make a bid, too.
