Arsenal and Chelsea have both been paired with an interest in Athletico Paranaense’s Bruno Guimaraes, but it appears as though they’re both set to miss out to Lyon.
The 22-year-old has made quite the impact at club level while he’s also been capped at U23 level by Brazil with suggestions that he has a bright future ahead of him.
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As reported by Calciomercato, both Arsenal and Chelsea were said to be keen on bringing him to England to bolster their respective squads, but it appears as though the Premier League giants will both miss out on his signature.
According to the Daily Mail, via L’Equipe, Lyon have reached an agreement to sign the midfielder for £21m, and so it would appear as though they are now in pole position to wrap up a deal to take him to Ligue 1 instead.
That will be a blow for the two London rivals, although perhaps particularly for Arsenal given sporting director Edu was said to have met the player’s representatives this month as the Gunners continue to shop for top talent in Brazil.
Gabriel Martinelli arrived last summer and looks set to make a major impact for Arsenal in the coming years, and they may well have felt as though they had found another gem in Guimaraes.
However, it sounds as though he’s Lyon bound this year, unless Arsenal or Chelsea decide to try and hijack their move in the coming days.
In turn, they’ll both have to look elsewhere it seems in the more immediate future and perhaps will monitor Guimaraes to see if he’ll be ready for the step up to the Premier League in the future if he proves his worth in France first. should a move materialise.