Bruno Guimarães to Arsenal: The €90m deal that beats a wild market

Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle for around €90m (£70m), and in a summer when Premier League clubs have been throwing money at central midfielders, the fee looks like the clearest bargain yet. The analysis puts Guimarães' Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) at €63.1m. That is higher than the ETV of Elliot Anderson and Matheus Fernandes, and broadly in line with Sandro Tonali's. Yet all three of those players moved for bigger fees: Anderson joined Manchester City from Nottingham Forest for €135m, Tonali left Newcastle for Tottenham for €108m, and Fernandes departed relegated Wolves for Spurs in a €99m deal. Against that backdrop, Arsenal's €90m agreement stands out for all the right reasons. How did Newcastle end up here? Publicly, the club had insisted Guimarães would not be sold, but reports have suggested the midfielder pushed to leave, which weakened Newcastle's negotiating position and drove the price down. The club has also been through this before. Last summer Newcastle tried to keep Alexander Isak against his will but were effectively forced to sell him to Liverpool, then overpaid for Nick Woltemade, who has not justified his fee and could already be moved on. The episode has already cost the club a manager, and with Matthias Jaissle arriving, a clean break appears to be the choice. Arsenal, under Mikel Arteta, have chipped away at Newcastle's resistance and are now close to completing one of the most impressive midfield deals of the window. The move may not be the most expensive of the summer, but in this market it looks like a genuine transfer coup.