Liverpool have been named as one of the admirers of Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who has verbally agreed a new deal at St James’ Park, according to Fabrizio Romano via his column in the Daily Briefing.
The Brazil international has proven a superb signing for Newcastle since his move from Lyon, when he became the first marquee signing of the ambitious new project under the Magpies’ wealthy Saudi backers.
Writing in today’s Daily Briefing column, Romano explained that Guimaraes has a verbal agreement on a new contract, which will contain a release clause worth around £100million, though the final precise fee has not yet been confirmed.
The 25-year-old has also been the subject of links with Liverpool, and Romano explained that it’s nothing particularly advanced, but he did admit that the Reds do like the player.
Liverpool have, however, just signed four new midfield players, bringing in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch this summer, so it’s hard to imagine they’ll be splashing the cash on Guimaraes or anyone else any time soon.
“If you remember, the week after the end of the transfer window, I said that Bruno was one step away from signing a new deal with Newcastle. Now the deal is done,” Romano explained.
“A verbal agreement has been reached between all parties, and now it’s set to be signed, probably in the next ten days. Bruno will extend his contract at Newcastle, it’s a ‘here we go’. The contract will be valid until 2028, so it’s a five-year deal with an improved salary, a lot higher than his current one.
“There is also a release clause. The final fee is yet to be confirmed, but what I’m hearing is that it is in the region of £100m. Let’s see if it ends up being a bit more than this, or a bit less, but there will 100% be a release clause, and it will be close to that £100m figure.
“From what I’m hearing, Bruno is very happy at Newcastle, very happy to extend his contract, very happy with the fans, the city, the manager. For Newcastle it’s crucial to extend Bruno’s contract and give him better salary. The clause is there because there was no other way: new deal with clause or nothing.
“There was no chance for any club in the summer as Newcastle called him untouchable since day one, but Bruno also wanted to stay as he really loves the club. The clause will fix the price for the future.
“Some fans have also been asking me about Bruno and Liverpool transfer rumours, but they are very happy with the midfield they have. I can say, though, that those around Jurgen Klopp rate Bruno Guimaraes really highly and he’s always been super appreciated by people at Liverpool. There’s nothing else to mention at the moment.”
Could be a good sign