Newcastle United have made a £30million bid for Lyon midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
The Brazilian has been linked with a move to Arsenal this month, with the Gunners monitoring his situation at Lyon.
But Mikel Arteta’s pursuit of a midfielder has led them towards Juventus ’ Arthur, his international teammate, who is available on loan if Juve can land a replacement.
Lyon have had little intention of cashing in on Guimaraes, at least until the end of the season.
And the player himself has been looking towards a summer move, when he believes he will have a greater chance of joining one of Europe’s elite clubs, having himself also been linked with Juventus.
But Newcastle's proposal, confirmed by multiple sources in France, sees the Saudi-backed Magpies offering a huge financial package to the 24-year-old to make him a focal point of their Premier League relegation battle. The deal would see Guimaraes earn four times his current Lyon salary.
Guimaraes has previously made clear his interest in a move to the Premier League, stating: "My aim is to win a title here, but I have never hidden my desire to play in the Premier League ."
The move comes with Eddie Howe and his side in Jeddah for warm weather training, and with the Toon head coach insisting they won’t panic buy this month.
Having already landed £25million Chris Wood and £12million Kieran Trippier, the Toon are moving on a host of targets - although they’re refusing to meet Sevilla’s price tag for defender Diego Carlos.
Howe explained: “We're looking at all alternative targets. Please don't think I'm sat there with a list of one player and that's the only player that we would go for.
“We're looking at a huge list of names but even when the list is big, it still doesn't mean that you're guaranteed to get one of those players over the line because you've got to remember this is, in my opinion, the best league in the world.
“The number of players that can come in and make your team better makes it a very small pond that we're fishing in with the availability issues that we'll have in this window compared to the summer. I think that's what people have to understand."
“The transfer window and the hype that is created around it sometimes is bigger than the actual reality. You just need to keep everything into perspective.
“In some cases you can bid whatever you want and the player isn’t for sale. Sometimes money isn’t the issue here.”
