by Tony Attwood
According to stories appearing in the media Newcastle are agreeing to the sale of Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal for £75million, with the money to be paid in one go at the moment of transfer. This is of course quite unusual as most transfers are paid over time. About £8m of the transfer fee will go to Lyon, as part of the original transfer deal between Lyon and Newcastle. Otherwise the rest is profit.
Just in case you feel like knowing his full name is Bruno Guimarães Rodriguez Moura, he was born on 16 November 1997, plays for Brazil as a central midfielder and has been captain of Newcastle. The player is said to have asked for a move away from Newcastle himself.
He initially played for Audax and then on loan with Athletico Paranaense, to whom he was transferred playing 66 games and scoring five goals. They sold him to Lyon who played him 56 times with thre goals coming his way followed by Newcastle where he has played 153 times and scored 30 goals with 32 assits.
We can immediately see the value of winning the league last season with transfers of this nature – players are much more likely to come to a club where there is a very recent history of winning the league. – and come to that the FA Cup and come to that getting to the European Cup (Champions League) final too.
He has played as captain of Newcastle in the recent past. He also won the Carabao Cup last March which was said to be the club’s first trophy since the 1950s. There is of course now the technicality of the medical, and if all is well there, the issue of finding him a house. I wonder if anyone has told him that will cost him most of his first year’s salary.
There will of course be more news on this but I thought I would throw in this from the Guardian today ahead of the forthcoming game… [In the interview](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/aug/05/hector-bellerin-arsenal-mikel-arteta-real-betis) Ces says
“Mikel (Arteta) was the first player who showed me that I was important to him, that I mattered. He demonstrates real care, if not through a hug. I said: ‘Thank you.’ He said: ‘If you do the same for a teammate one day I’m happy.’ The legacy he left is one I try to pass on so young players feel looked after and that’s an experience that defines Mikel very well.”
More on these stories later…