Newcastle: PIF tipped to ‘sell’ with European giants set to make ‘historic £99m offer’ for ‘crown jewel’

According to reports, European giants Paris-Saint Germain are set to make a ‘substantial’ bid for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

The Brazil international has been one of Newcastle‘s marquee signings after Saudi-funded PIF completed its takeover of the Premier League outfit towards the end of 2021.

After initially being heavily linked with Arsenal, Guimaraes joined Newcastle from Ligue Un side Lyon for £40m during the 2022 winter transfer window.

The centre-midfielder has firmly established himself as a Newcastle fan favourite as he has shone for Eddie Howe’s side over the past couple of seasons.

Newcastle will want Guimaraes to stick around for many years to come but this may not be likely amid reports linking him with FC Barcelona and other European giants. 

The Magpies are enduring a slump at the money as they have lost seven of their past eight games across all competitions. Howe would presumably like to strengthen his squad this month but he is being hamstrung by their ongoing Financial Fair Play issues.

Earlier this month, a report from talkSPORT claimed ‘Newcastle face being forced to cash in on one of their crown jewels to raise funds for summer signings’. The report added.

‘Not only will this make it difficult for manager Eddie Howe to replenish his injury-hit squad in this transfer window, with Newcastle United mainly scouring the loan market for reinforcements, but also means they are potentially facing a big decision come the end of the season.

‘Midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who has a £100million release clause in his contract, defender Sven Botman and striker Alexander Isak are the club’s most sellable assets at St James’ Park and none would be short of suitors not just in the Premier League but among Europe’s elite clubs.

‘It may be that Newcastle have to follow Aston Villa’s example when they cashed in on Jack Grealish to fund the squad rebuild that has turned Unai Emery’s men into surprise challengers at the top of the table.’

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A report from Spanish outlet Fichajes claims PSG are ‘ready’ to make an ‘historic and substantial bid’ for Guimaraes ‘with a value that would reach 115 million euros’ (£99m).

PSG are said to have picked out Guimaraes as their ‘main objective’ this month with him being identified as a ‘top signing’ for the ‘second round’ of their rebuild under Luis Enrique.

This report has been refuted by journalist Ben Jacobs so (if you haven’t already) you should take this with a grain of salt.

Jacobs tweeted: “PSG are not considering Bruno Guimaraes this January despite links.”