The £100m window to sign Bruno Guimaraes and why it makes sense for Newcastle
Eddie Howe has warned Bruno Guimaraes’ many suitors they will have to offer £100 million to activate his release clause before the end of June or he will stay at Newcastle United.
Newcastle are adamant they will not entertain any offers below their £100 million valuation of the Brazil international and Howe has gone a step further by suggesting they will not be selling him at all unless the release clause is activated. Bruno will have four years remaining on his contract this summer and the £100 million release clause is active until the last week in June.
Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Paris St-Germain have all been credited with plotting moves for the 26-year-old in recent weeks.
Asked if the constant speculation surrounding the Brazilian was concerning, Howe replied: “I don’t tend to worry about it.
“He’s an integral part of what we are doing. His form has been very good. He seems very happy and settled. He will be thinking about a busy summer ahead and where we can hopefully take the team. He is a big part of that. We are not in control of that [the speculation linking him with other clubs], so we shall see.”
Howe believes the existence of the clause will prevent a summer long transfer saga.
“Having that [clause expire at the end of June] was well planned and structured by the club,” he said. “In a sense that there is a finish point.
“We don’t want the constant speculation, I don’t think that’s healthy for the player or for us.”
Howe believes the club will be able to rebuild the squad in the summer with or without the sale of one of their marquee names.
“Yeah, I think I can do what I want to do this summer,” he added. “These ‘big names’ are the talk of everything but I don’t know what’s going to happen this summer.
“I can’t predict the future but whatever happens, we can fight, live again and create a slightly different team. That might be what we have to do but it’s certainly not what I want to do. I want to make minimal changes but changes that can transport us forward. We just have to adjust when it happens.
“It’s all about the individual players, it’s never about what [age] bracket they’re in; it’s about what they can do for us and how they can take the team or the squad forward. I think that’s where we are.”
Newcastle hold the aces in £100m fight
When Telegraph Sport revealed last year that the contract extension Bruno had signed contained a release clause, it unsettled fans as it gave the impression of a player who was already thinking about his escape route.
When the club’s chief executive, Darren Eales, candidly admitted in January that Newcastle would need to sell before they could buy – and would need to do so again moving forward into the summer – it fired the starting pistol.
What has followed is an almost constant flow of stories linking Bruno with moves to some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Newcastle have not enjoyed the constant speculation and are naturally worried it will unsettle the player who is adored on Tyneside. For many, he is one of the best midfield players to have played for the club.
Bruno is clearly one of Newcastle’s most sellable assets. He has been brilliant since he arrived from Lyon for £35 million in the winter of 2021. He has proven he can compete against the very best in the Premier League and there is a good reason he is on Arsenal and Manchester City’s shortlist of potential targets this summer.
Bruno will not need time to acclimatise to the Premier League and he can play as either a No 6 or a No 8. He can handle the rough stuff, can receive and keep the ball under pressure and has the full range of passing. If Moises Caicedo moved to Chelsea from Brighton for £115 million last summer, the £100 million valuation is more than fair.
It was going to be a very long summer, with doubts about keeping Bruno lasting right up until deadline day. But where the club has been smart is in creating a very short window for the release clause to be active. It is only an option for clubs to activate before the end of June.
The key thing here is that means clubs will have to find £100 million to spend in this profit and sustainability window. Accounts have to be finalised and compliance with PSR proven by the end of June. As we saw in January, there are not many clubs who have that sort of room for manoeuvre.
It’s all about the money
If someone is going to bid for Bruno before the end of June and take away control of the sale from Newcastle, they will almost certainly have to sell someone first.
If they do not have the money to spend before the end of June, Newcastle will hold all the cards and are likely to argue the asking price is even more than the £100 million stipulated in the release clause.
Much will then depend on Bruno. Will he start to agitate to leave? Will he seek to put pressure on Newcastle to accept bids, even if they are less than the £100 million?
He would not be the first to do so, especially if he can vastly improve on his current wages of £180,000-a-week elsewhere while also having a far greater chance of winning major silverware and playing in the Champions League.
As Howe has said, he cannot predict the future, but he was not being disingenuous when he said the player is very happy and settled at his current club. Sources do not believe the player will look to force a move as he is not that type of character.
His best friend, Joelinton, has signed a new long-term deal and he feeds off the love of the fans. He is the superstar player in Newcastle and would not be if he moved to somewhere like Manchester City. He might not even play regularly, given what has happened to the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes under Pep Guardiola.
He is also a fixture in the Brazil team while playing for Newcastle, so does not need to move to improve his chances of playing international football.
These are all positives from a Newcastle perspective. Bruno has lots of admirers, and rightly so, but if he does not leave in May and June – which will give the club a full summer to reinvest the money – it would appear to dramatically increase the chances he will be a Newcastle player again next season.
