Newcastle turned down a second approach from Chelsea for Bruno Guimaraes before the club agreed a deal in principle over a contract extension for the midfielder, FootballTransfers has been told.
As previously reported, negotiations had dragged on owing to the implementation of a release clause for the Brazil international, an amount we are informed is between £100million-£150million – but now the structure of the contract is in place.
The club’s owners, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Amanda Staveley, took charge of the deal and have managed to a deal verbally agreed between all parties.
Liverpool and Paris Saint–Germain made proposals over the summer transfer window which was knocked back by Newcastle, with the Ligue 1 champions offering more than the Reds. Chelsea had made an initial enquiry at this point, too, which was also rejected.
Fresh Chelsea approach
But we are told that the west London outfit had made another approach for Guimaraes, around the time Romeo Lavia picked up a muscle tear, over a possible January move, and at a time when talks between Guimaraes and Newcastle’s discussions over fresh terms appeared to be at an impasse. But this, too, was rejected by Newcastle, whose hierarchy are huge fans of the 25-year-old.
However, despite a deal being in place, there remains interest in Guimaraes from abroad, mostly in Spain, and Newcastle are anticipating fresh challenges in 2024, even with a release clause in place.
Newcastle have enjoyed a small bounce back from a torrid start to their season, beating Brentford 1-0 at St James’ Park last weekend before earning a point at the San Siro in their Champions League encounter with AC Milan mid-week. The side face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday.