Bruno Guimaraes set for Arsenal move as Newcastle face exodus

Bruno Guimaraes edges towards Arsenal as Newcastle exodus deepens

The champions are about to drop their biggest statement of the summer.

Bruno Guimaraes has been given permission to travel to London and complete a £75m move from Newcastle United to Arsenal, with the 28-year-old set for a medical in the coming days and an official announcement expected soon after. For Mikel Arteta, it is the signing he has been pushing towards all window. For Newcastle, it is another wrenching goodbye.

Guimaraes, the heartbeat of Eddie Howe’s midfield and the club’s captain, follows Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali out of St James’ Park in a summer that has tested the limits of Newcastle’s project and their supporters’ patience. The club insist they will not sell any more core players. The reality is that one of the most influential has already gone.

For Arsenal, this is the piece that changes the shape of a title defence. Arteta has long wanted a midfielder who can both dictate the game and rip it open, a player comfortable receiving under pressure, snapping into tackles and then threading passes through the lines. Guimaraes fits that brief almost perfectly, and the club view him as a cornerstone rather than a luxury.

The move also ripples through the rest of their plans. Arsenal will keep pushing for Guimaraes’ Brazil team-mate Vinicius Jr, but privately accept that the odds are turning against them. Real Madrid have significantly improved their contract offer to their star winger, bringing it much closer to his demands. The mood in Madrid, in London and in the player’s camp is converging on one conclusion: Vinicius is now far likelier to stay where he is than to swap the Bernabeu for the Premier League champions.

Liverpool eye PSG double swoop

While Arsenal prepare to unveil their new midfield general, Liverpool are plotting something far more explosive out wide.

The club remain locked on to Bradley Barcola, but are trying to drag Paris Saint-Germain’s £140m valuation into a more realistic bracket. The dynamic winger is seen as a marquee answer on the flanks after Mohamed Salah’s departure, a long-term attacking pillar for Andoni Iraola.

Just as that pursuit threatened to stall, a development in Monaco may have reopened the door. PSG are set to sign France international Maghnes Akliouche in a £42.8m deal, and the timing is impossible to ignore. A new wide forward arriving, a huge bid circling Barcola. It looks a lot like succession planning.

Yet Liverpool’s ambitions stretch beyond a straight replacement. Fabrice Hawkins of RMC Sport reports that the club want not only Barcola but also his team-mate Ibrahim Mbaye. Two wide players from the European champions, one window, a combined cost that could soar beyond £200m. It would be a radical reshaping of Liverpool’s right side and a thunderous declaration of intent from Iraola.

The question is whether PSG, even with Akliouche incoming, will really allow both to leave in the same summer – and whether Liverpool are ready to push that hard, that fast, in a single window.

Newcastle dig in over Lewis Hall

Back on Tyneside, the Guimaraes deal has sharpened the focus on who might be next. Manchester United have made Lewis Hall their No 1 target at left-back and are prepared to go to around £60m to get him.

Newcastle’s response is blunt: not this time.

The club are determined to draw a line after seeing Tonali, Gordon and now Guimaraes depart. Hall, 21, is regarded internally as a key part of their future and, according to The Athletic, Newcastle have made it clear he is not for sale. The stance is firm, even as United circle and the market continues to swirl around them.

Tottenham cool on Nicolas Jackson

Across north London, Tottenham are taking a different approach.

Linked in recent days with a move for Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, Spurs have moved to distance themselves from the idea. Jackson, 25, has returned from a season-long loan at Bayern Munich and is available for another move, but he is not the forward Tottenham want.

They have already spent £237m this summer and are open to adding another attacker, with Cody Gakpo and Savinho among those discussed. Yet Jackson is off the list. Tottenham’s recruitment has been aggressive, but not scattergun, and they are refusing to be bounced into a deal that does not fit.

Chelsea line up Pep Chavarria

Chelsea, meanwhile, are closing in on a solution of their own on the left flank.

Rayo Vallecano full-back Pep Chavarria is set to arrive as a replacement for Marc Cucurella, with the 28-year-old identified with the help of Xabi Alonso. Chavarria is poised to become Chelsea’s 10th signing of the window, another piece in a squad overhaul that shows little sign of slowing.

The move underlines Chelsea’s ongoing commitment to refreshing almost every department of the pitch, even as they juggle outgoings and the need to trim a bloated squad.

Bournemouth move for Juanlu Sanchez

Lower down the table, Bournemouth continue to work with precision.

Juanlu Sanchez is undergoing a medical ahead of an £11.2m move from Sevilla, with the 22-year-old right-back having travelled to England yesterday to finalise the deal. It is the type of targeted signing the club have favoured: young, technically strong, and with room to grow in the Premier League.

Norgaard swaps Arsenal for Everton

At Arsenal, Guimaraes’ impending arrival comes as another midfielder heads out.

Christian Norgaard has completed a £7m move to Everton on a two-year contract, seeking what he called “a bigger football role” after leaving the champions. The 32-year-old was valued highly by Arteta inside the dressing room, even if he never fully nailed down a starting place.

“He played a tremendous role for us,” Arteta said. “When I brought him here I said that he could be our glue player. He has an incredible capacity to bring players together and keep the standards high. When he played, he had some really good moments as well. But I understand to fulfil that role for long periods is not easy.

“He had a massive opportunity with a manager and a club I know really well. I wish him all the best and thank you.”

Norgaard, for his part, spoke of being “very intrigued” by the project laid out by David Moyes and the Everton hierarchy. His move gives the Toffees experience and control in midfield, and gives Arsenal room for the kind of elite addition that Guimaraes represents.

The champions are reshaping their core. Newcastle are fighting to keep what is left of theirs. Liverpool are preparing a swing at PSG. The window still has time to run – and the biggest moves are only just beginning to land.