Arsenal hold talks to sign £85m star

While Arsenal are aiming to go big to strengthen their attack this summer, it’s not the only objective for Andrea Berta and Co.

In the forward positions, Morgan Rogers is the leading target and there is a believe that they will be able to get a deal done before too long. That’s because the player is reportedly very keen on making the switch and has told Aston Villa officials as much.

Yet, further back, he could be joined by another Premier League star in the form of Bruno Guimaraes.

It’s a midfield merry-go-round this summer with Elliot Anderson’s £116m move to Manchester City wreaking havoc with the transfer market. It’s led to suggestions that players like Adam Wharton and Sandro Tonali are also £100m players in waiting.

Yet, how much could Bruno cost and who else is on Arsenal’s radar?

Arsenal have targeted £85m Guimaraes alternative

Whether Arsenal sign Rogers and Guimaraes remains to be seen but they are certainly pushing hard to get both done.

The Gunners have already held exploratory talks regarding a move for the Newcastle midfielder, floating an offer close to £60m to secure his services.

While official club-to-club talks are yet to begin, the player has given Arsenal the greenlight to commence proceedings, suggesting he is particularly keen on joining the Premier League champions. An £80m bid is being prepared.

That said, Guimaraes is not the only midfielders on Mikel Arteta’s radar. The league winners have also explored a move for Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi while Alex Scott at Bournemouth is a player they really like according to other reports.

That said, as per journalist Ben Jacobs, the Gunners have also looked into the possibility of signing Mateus Fernandes from recently relegated West Ham.

Jacobs reports that while Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are in active talks to sign the midfielder, there have also been enquiries made by Arsenal, Real Madrid and PSG this summer.

All three clubs have explored the conditions of a deal during initial talks but have not furthered their interest in the Portuguese just yet.

It’s widely thought that Fernandes could cost around £85m this summer.

How Mateus Fernandes compares to Bruno Guimaraes

If Arsenal could sign Guimaraes this summer, it would represent a particularly eye-catching addition. As his international colleague Gabriel Martinelli once described him, the Toon star is “one of the best midfielders in the world.”

At the age of 28, he is a win now signing, a player who could take the Gunners to the next level. He’s a natural-born leader, he’s a warrior, he can score goals, he can disrupt play and he’s a no-nonsense aggressive in-yer-face sort of player.

Guimaraes is the type of player you hate playing against and that’s exactly why he could take Arsenal to the next level. Opposition players already hate playing against Arteta’s side; the arrival of Bruno would make it even worse for them.

Yet, in the shape of Fernandes, they could sign the future Guimaraes. At the age of 21, the Portugual star is less win now but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t walk straight into the Arsenal team.

After all, he is one of the best up and coming midfielders in the league right now, he’s a “superstar” midfielder in the words of football writer Joost van der Leij. As it happens, he’s also rather like the Newcastle star across plenty of metrics.

Indeed, according to ScoutLab, the tenth most similar player in Europe’s top five leagues to the Brazilian last season was, in fact, Fernandes. Here’s why that was the case.

When analysing the data of primary importance for a midfield player, particularly in the Premier League, it’s easy to see where the core comparisons come from.

First and foremost, these are duel winning midfielders. They are aggressive in the centre of the pitch with only 0.2 separating them for duels won across the 2025/26 campaign.

The comparisons, however, do not stop there. They are pretty equal when it comes to dribbles and carrying. Last term, Guimaraes made 0.90 progressive carries to Fernandes’ 1.10. They are the type of midfield players to grab the ball and carry it forward with purpose. They don’t want to play backwards.

With the latter only in his early 20s, there is every reason to believe that his numbers will get even better in the years to come. If he is this close to Bruno now, just imagine where he could be at the same age.