Arsenal step up bid to sign Newcastle’s Guimaraes

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Arsenal have stepped up talks with Newcastle in a bid to sign Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, according to reports on Tuesday.

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The Premier League champions reportedly had a recent £70 million ($93 million) offer rejected for Guimaraes, but are set to return with an improved offer.

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Arsenal are keen on Newcastle captain Guimaraes after opting not to match Chelsea’s British record £117 million swoop for England forward Morgan Rogers.

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Guimaraes, 28, scored nine goals and produced eight assists in all competitions for Newcastle last term.

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Newcastle, who signed Guimaraes for £35 million from Lyon in 2022, are keen to avoid a repeat of the protracted transfer saga that ended with Alexander Isak joining Liverpool just before the transfer deadline last year.

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Isak effectively went on strike, refusing to take part in Newcastle’s pre-season preparations 12 months ago, in a bid to force through his move to Anfield.

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Eddie Howe, who quit as Newcastle manager last week, had admitted earlier in the close-season that he was concerned about losing Guimaraes.

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After a holiday following Brazil’s World Cup last-16 defeat against Norway in July, Guimaraes has linked up with Newcastle on the club’s pre-season training camp in Spain.

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But it looks increasingly unlikely he will be with the Magpies when they kick off their Premier League campaign at home to Liverpool on August 23.

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Arsenal open their title defence against Coventry at the Emirates Stadium on August 21.

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Gunners manager Mikel Arteta has not spoken publicly about his interest in Guimaraes, but said the club are “very active” and “very ambitious in what we want to do”.

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“We need to increase the competition internally. We need to make sure we identify the things that we don’t have in the team,” he said.

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