According to some big claims coming out of France, Newcastle United have launched a €40m (£33.5m) bid for Lyon star Bruno Guimaraes.
This comes from L’Equipe, who report that we submitted a formal offer for the central midfielder on Tuesday after contacting the player’s entourage.
The same piece also claims that we’ve offered to quadruple the 24-year-old’s current salary should he make a January move to St James’ Park.
With him earning a reported £46,000-per-week in France, this suggests a contract worth £180,000-per-week may have been sent his way from our new owners.
L’Equipe claim that our bid could tempt Lyon into a sale, with the Ligue 1 side currently struggling for cash, but it remains to be seen how the Guimaraes himself will react.
The highly-rated midfielder is currently away on international duty with Brazil, having represented his country in last year’s Olympics.
He has six assists in 25 appearances this season and is represented by the same agency (Bertolucci Sports) as fellow Toon target Diego Carlos.
This would be some signing and highlights our ambition to get big deals done ahead of next Monday’s 11pm deadline, however we’d do very well to attract a player of his calibre; especially when the likes of Juventus and Arsenal have also been heavily linked.
The Mail’s Craig Hope has since confirmed that a bid has gone in for the Lyon star, although it seems his sources believe the offer may be slightly less than the €40m (£33.5m) reported in France:
