Jamie Carragher has outlined the price Arsenal must pay to sign Bruno Guimaraes this summer, after Newcastle United rejected their £55 million opening bid. The Liverpool legend believes an offer in the region of £85 million to £100 million could persuade Newcastle to sell the Brazilian midfielder, but only if Arsenal outbid Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal's midfield pursuit
Mikel Arteta is keen to strengthen his midfield and is preparing a second bid for Guimaraes, despite Newcastle having no intention of selling their captain. The Magpies face a major rebuild after a poor season that saw them fail to qualify for European competition. Anthony Gordon has already left for Barcelona, while Guimaraes' midfield partner Sandro Tonali is a top target for Tottenham, with a £75 million bid for the Italian rejected last week.
Newcastle consider Guimaraes untouchable, but it is understood that offers between £85 million and £100 million could tempt them to part with Tonali, who has also been tentatively linked with Manchester United and Manchester City. Carragher is convinced Newcastle will not sell both midfielders at once.
Carragher's analysis
Speaking on Sky Sports News, Carragher said: 'Newcastle now under Eddie Howe, he built a brilliant team, won a trophy, got Champions League football twice. Not a great season for them last season, but it just almost feels like that team is sort of breaking up now. Anthony Gordon has gone, Tonali is looking like he may move on. I think there's been a bid for Arsenal as well today for Bruno Guimaraes.'
He added: 'Guimaraes is a wonderful player. He's loved up there, maybe he's getting a little bit frustrated at seeing all his mates getting linked with moves or looking like they're going, and maybe he's put a story out – or he and his people have, I don't know – or maybe it is a genuine bid from Arsenal. I can understand that. As I said, I think he can play for the top teams – he's playing central midfield now for Brazil in the World Cup, so that shows the quality the lad has.'
Newcastle's rebuilding dilemma
Carragher warned that losing multiple key players could be detrimental: 'But I think if Anthony Gordon goes and Tonali, I think if you lose any more, it's probably too much then, really. I think Guimaraes and Tonali both leave a huge hole for Newcastle to fill. So, I think they probably lose one of them, and it would probably come down to who is getting offered the most money for.'
Arsenal have other midfield targets on their shortlist, including Bournemouth's Alex Scott, West Ham's Matheus Fernandes, and Tonali, who was offered to the Gunners in January. It is said that the 26-year-old Guimaraes would prefer a move to Arsenal over Tottenham, who have moved quickly this window, completing deals for Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson, and Martin Dubravka.
Spurs' early transfer activity
Carragher also commented on Tottenham's swift business under Roberto De Zerbi: 'I think you can see straight away with Roberto De Zerbi, he wants to get things done quickly, bring his own players there as soon as possible, before pre-season starts. They have made a lot of signings early on, he's not messing about. He did a really good job when he came in, kept them up. But he's not at Tottenham to be in the middle of the table. He wants to be getting Tottenham back challenging for those Champions League positions. He's a top coach and it looks like he's attracting some top players and Tonali is that.'
