Pep Guardiola and Manchester City eye summer move for £100 million Premier League midfielder

Premier League champions Manchester City are reportedly considering whether to make a move for highly-rated Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

The 26-year-old becomes the latest in a long line of reported Manchester City targets as the summer transfer window approaches, with Etihad bosses seemingly focussing plenty of attention on the roles in the middle of the park.

Kalvin Phillips’ struggles and expected exit in the coming months, as well as uncertainty over Bernardo Silva’s longer-term future, means that Pep Guardiola could see openings for fresh faces in his squad during the summer.

As such, City are seemingly weighing up a number of options ranging from Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, to West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta. But a new report has linked the Premier League champions with a member of Eddie Howe’s team.

According to the information of FootballTransfers’ Jacque Talbot, Manchester City are ‘exploring the prospect’ of making a move for Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The report quotes ‘sources close to the situation’ who state that the Etihad Stadium club have a ‘huge interest’ in the Brazilian midfielder, as part of City’s ongoing pursuit of strengthened midfield options for the new season.

As for Pep Guardiola, the City boss in particular is said to be ‘a big fan’ of Guimaraes’ ‘versatility and tenacity’, while the coach also likes Lucas Paqueta. However, it is claimed that the ongoing off-the-field issues involving the West Ham man means a move is ‘unlikely’.

Unfortunately for Manchester City, there is not expected to be any room for negotiation for the Brazil international, with FootballTransfers reporting that only the triggering of the player’s £100 million release clause will get a deal over the line.

Bruno Guimaraes is once again at the heart of everything brilliant in Newcastle United’s midfield system, registering 38 appearances across all competitions for the club this season, scoring three goals and providing six assists.

Since arriving at St James’ Park from Olympique Lyonnais for a reported fee of up to £40 million in January 2022, Guimaraes is now approaching 100 appearances for the club as he spearheads the new era in the north-east under Saudi Arabian ownership.

The Brazilian is however yet to win any silverware at the Newcastle United project, finishing as a runner-up in the 2022/23 Carabao Cup final, losing out to Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United side at Wembley Stadium.