Arsenal and Man City plot summer head-to-head for Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes

Bruno Guimaraes is thought to have a release clause of around £100 million – Shutterstock/David Cliff

Arsenal and Manchester City are both considering a summer move for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, raising the prospect of the two title-chasers going head-to-head for the same player for the second year in a row.

Arsenal and City battled for the signature of Declan Rice last summer, with Arsenal eventually winning the race after agreeing to pay a club-record fee of £105 million to West Ham United.

And the two sides could be set for a similar situation this summer if they both decide to formalise their initial interest in Bruno , who has excelled at Newcastle since joining the club in January 2022.

Telegraph Sport understands that Bruno is aware of Arsenal and City’s admiration, while there have also been numerous reports linking the Brazil international with Paris St-Germain.

Bruno is thought to have a release clause of around £100 million in his contract, although that would not necessarily prevent interested clubs from trying to strike a deal at a lower price.

Arsenal are keen to strengthen their midfield amid uncertainty over the futures of Thomas Partey and Jorginho.

Partey has barely featured this season due to fitness issues and will have just one year remaining on his contract at the end of this campaign. Jorginho’s deal, meanwhile, expires at the end of this season — although he could yet agree to an extension.

Arsenal are also hoping to improve their frontline, as reported by Telegraph Sport last week, and their financial firepower will depend, to some extent, on their ability to generate funds through sales.

Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, said on Monday that he and sporting director Edu have “a few ideas” of what is required to take the team to the next level.

“We have to see how we finish first and what we are capable of doing,” said Arteta. “And then sit down and review everything we have done, and see how we are going to make another step or two steps forward.

“That is what this team, this club and our people are demanding — to keep moving forward, in a ruthless way. Because we are not satisfied with where we are.”

Telegraph Sport reported earlier this year that Manchester City remain interested in signing West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta, should clubs move for Bernardo Silva at the end of this season.

Paqueta and Bruno were team-mates at Lyon and are known to be close. Bruno has previously described Paqueta as his “brother” and “best friend”.

Newcastle are hoping to be able to keep their best players together for at least another year, despite being under pressure to sell some of their key men in order to fund further investment.

As revealed by Telegraph Sport earlier this month, Bruno has given the strongest indication yet that he could remain at Newcastle by buying a new house in the North East.

Bruno recently bid for a new property in an exclusive neighbourhood in Northumberland and hopes to move into it shortly with his family.

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