Arsenal reach full agreement with Newcastle United over Bruno Guimaraes transfer

Arsenal have agreed an £80m deal to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United (Getty)

Arsenal have reached a final agreement with Newcastle United over an £80 million deal for Bruno Guimaraes, according to reports in Brazil.

The Premier League champions have made Guimaraes their priority midfield signing but have already seen bids of £55m and £70m rejected by Newcastle .

On Friday, reports in France claimed that Arsenal had made a breakthrough during negotiations with Newcastle by agreeing an initial fee for Guimaraes .

ESPN Brasil is now reporting on Saturday that Arsenal have finalised an agreement with Newcastle which will see them pay £70m up front, plus a further £10m in add-ons.

The report adds that Guimaraes is now set to travel to London this weekend to sign his contract with Arsenal.

Guimaraes has asked Newcastle to delay his travel to La Manga for a pre-season training camp, which suggests his move to Arsenal could be finalised imminently.

Bruno Guimaraes is set to travel to London this weekend to finalise his move to Arsenal (AMA/Getty)

The 28-year-old midfielder was expected to return to training with Newcastle on Monday following his appearance for Brazil at the World Cup this summer.

Guimaraes is pushing to leave Newcastle in order to continue playing in the Champions League.

Newcastle finished 12th in the Premier League last season and will not be playing in Europe for the upcoming campaign.

Guimaraes’ desire to move clubs is also likely to be strengthened following Eddie Howe’s departure at Newcastle this week .

Howe is said to have become ‘exasperated’ by Newcastle’s decision to sell Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer, while he also privately expected club captain Guimaraes to join Arsenal.

In what turned out to be his final interview as Newcastle manager on Wednesday night after his side were beaten 4-1 by Bristol City in a pre-season friendly, Howe said he could not guarantee that Guimaraes would stay at St James’ Park.

‘Assurances… I don’t think you can push too hard for those. I think I’ve said many times you want players that are committed,’ Howe said.

‘Bruno’s always been committed here. His training performances, his game performances, have been outstanding. Every time he’s worn the shirt, he’s played with the fans by his side. I’d love to see that continue.

‘I think we want to keep all of our best players. They’re so valuable, and as I said numerous times, there aren’t many of them, and to get them and develop them is so difficult.

‘So when you have them, you want to keep them. And Bruno’s very much in that category, he’s an outstanding player.’