Manchester United are being strongly linked to Bruno Guimaraes. It is a deal the club should have done four years ago.
Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is being lined up as a top transfer target for Manchester United’s 2026 summer rebuild.
Reuters report United have made contact over Guimaraes, after he was personally recommended to the club by Casemiro, who will leave at the end of the current season.
Guimaraes’ quality is no mystery; he has been a consistent performer for Newcastle since signing for the club in 2022.
Manchester United were actually linked at the time – but lacked the foresight or strategy to actually buy the Brazilian at the time.
Bruno Guimaraes playing for Olympique Lyon
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Bruno Guimaraes walks with ball under his arm for Newcastle.
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Man Utd’s previous interest in Bruno Guimaraes
Bruno Guimaraes first attracted interest from Manchester United with his impressive performances in Ligue 1 for Lyon.
Sky Sports reported in January 2022 that the Red Devils were paying attention to Guimaraes’ potential availability from Lyon. Arsenal and PSG were also linked.
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Guimaraes had spent almost two years at Lyon since joining from Brazilian club Athletico Paranaense.
At the time, he ranked number one in Ligue 1 for successful through balls, passes into the final third, and successful tackles, showing his quality on both sides of the ball.
However, before the January 2022 transfer deadline it was Newcastle who swooped in to agree a £33 million deal to sign Guimaraes. It was perhaps fair value for an unproven Ligue 1 midfielder – but it has shown to be a bargain.
United In Focus wrote at the time that ‘Manchester United were caught napping‘ by Newcastle. We argued, ‘The Lyon ace is a player who would improve United’s midfield immeasurably.
‘£33 million is not a lot of money. It is less than United spent on Donny van de Beek, who cannot get a kick at Old Trafford and has played just 69 minutes of Premier League action this season.’
Just two years earlier, Manchester United had spent more money at the end of the 2020 January transfer window to sign Bruno Fernandes, and it was a shrewd investment. Guimaraes could have repeated a similar success.
But looking at the context of Manchester United in January 2022, it is not a surprise that the club did not pay the money.
This was the January window overseen by interim manager Ralf Rangnick, and the Glazers decided to pull all investment.
Rangnick wanted to get deals done. He recommended various forwards including Julian Alvarez and Luis Diaz, and a move for Ligue 1’s statistical powerhouse midfielder Guimaraes would have been one he would have approved.
Instead there was a total lack of ambition from the club, which sent the wrong message to the rest of the squad and allowed the season to unravel, despite being in the Champions League knockout stages.
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Manchester United: More organised and focused in 2026
While Manchester United currently find themselves without a permanent head coach once again, the situation in 2026 could not be more different to 2022.
United have overhauled the recruitment department and reshaped the structure of the football operations of the club. This has been implemented by Ineos, who bought a large investment stake at the end of 2023.
It means that even without a permanent manager in place, there is a director of football and a fully cohesive recruitment team and strategy, unlike 2022.
United overhauled the team’s attack last summer with focused spending on Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, and it has been a success so far.
Now the club have to repeat the feat in midfield, and a potential move for Bruno Guimaraes would follow the strategy of signing a high-quality Premier League proven star.
Guimaraes would cost more than double the fee Newcastle paid in 2022, but he could be available due to their likely failure to attain European football for 2026/27.
It would have been a lot easier and cheaper if United just had the foresight to get the deal done four years ago.
We wrote in 2022: “Whoever the new manager turns out to be, he will likely wish he had Bruno Guimaraes in his squad to choose from.”
Without a doubt, the same applies in 2026.
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