Arsenal ready to bid for Bruno Guimarães as midfielder tells Newcastle he wants to join champions

Arsenal are ready to step up their interest in Bruno Guimarães after the Brazil midfielder informed Newcastle that he wants to join the Premier League champions.

Guimarães, who missed a penalty in Brazil’s defeat to Norway in the last-16 of the World Cup on Sunday, is understood to have his heart set on a move to north London after Arsenal held talks with his representatives last month. Newcastle have yet to receive any contact from Arsenal but they are believed to be preparing an offer in the region of £60m.

Having already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona and Sandro Tonali to Tottenham this summer, Newcastle are reluctant to allow their club captain to also depart. Guimarães still has two years of his contract remaining with the north-east club, who are set to complete the signing of Sean Steur from Ajax as a replacement for Tonali, retaining the option of extending that by a further year. But Newcastle are understandably keen to avoid a repeat of last summer’s protracted saga that eventually saw Alexander Isak join Liverpool.

Arsenal want to bolster their options in midfield, partly because of concerns over Declan Rice’s long-term fitness issues, with Morocco teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott understood to be alternatives to Guimarães. Christian Norgaard, who only started one Premier League game last season after joining from Brentford, could be allowed to depart.

Arsenal are also looking to strengthen their attack this summer and have made Aston Villa’s Morgan Rodgers their No 1 target. Villa are thought to want more than £100m for the England midfielder. Atletico Madrid’s Julián Alvarez is another option, although the Argentina forward would prefer to join Barcelona and could cost £130m. Leandro Trossard is expected to be allowed to join Besiktas after the Turkish club agreed a £17m fee for the 31-year-old.

Arsenal have lined up the signing of the former Leeds goalkeeper Islan Meslier on a free transfer but it remains to be seen whether the Frenchman will be David Raya’s main understudy next season. Kepa Arrizabalaga is hoping to leave in search of regular playing time, with clubs in Italy and Spain interested.