Arsenal want to sign a Newcastle player that Manchester City have shown interest in but never been convinced enough to take the plunge
Newcastle United v Arsenal at St. James' Park, Newcastle Upon Tyne ----- Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes and ref Jarred Gillett
Arsenal are the main club credited with an interest in Guimaraes(Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle)
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Arsenal's push for Newcastle star Bruno Guimaraes will have pricked ears at the Etihad Stadium. Guimaraes is a player who has long been admired by Manchester City and they have certainly shown interest before around transfer windows.
That has ultimately never resulted in anything tangible though. It has been around two years since the feeling from City was that Guimaraes, while a top talent, was effectively too old for the Blues to be investing £100m in, and the Brazilian will be 29 in November and likely to have a similar price tag.
City are still looking to sign another midfielder this summer despite spending £116m on Elliot Anderson, yet at 23 and homegrown the England man is much more a typical profile of signing. Sandro Tonali, Guimaraes' former teammate, was looked at but has just turned 26 while Morocco star Ayyoub Bouaddi is only 18.
In an age where there are always demands on top clubs to compete though, and the cost of players is only going one way, could City change their thinking for their midfield? Their best two starters last year were Rodri (30) and Bernardo Silva (31), so is older now better?
It's unlikely that City will significantly shift their thinking on the preferred age bracket of players they like to sign, and Guimaraes is not expected to be an exception to the rule. If Arsenal are serious about signing him, they should not have to worry about competition from the Etihad.
The fact that Arsenal, the team that won the Premier League title last season, are interested should set off a few warning bells at City though. It isn't the case that clubs should have identical transfer strategies but is usually true that the team with the best midfield wins the league, yet if Mikel Arteta thinks that Guimaraes is good enough and young enough to pay a premium then City have to be doubly sure before doubling down.
There are still many parts to City's midfield situation to sort before Enzo Maresca can begin his first Premier League campaign in charge of the Blues. The futures of Rico Lewis, Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rodri all need addressing in addition to the work done to sign another player.
At least two of those will be expected back for the start of City's pre-season in ten days but the World Cup has added further complications to the summer, as has the surgery that Rodri is expected to have at the end of Spain's involvement in the tournament. There is less than two months before the window shuts.
City will be happy with the strategy and the targets they are pursuing, but they will have to be wary of the moves that their biggest rivals are making.