Arsenal and Manchester City will square off for the signing of Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes this summer, and a report has revealed how the Brazilian may have telegraphed who he’ll be playing for next season.

Guimaraes, 26, has been a revelation at St. James’ Park following his roughly £40m arrival from Lyon at the beginning of 2022.

The 20-cap Brazil international helped guide Newcastle to the final of the League Cup last term as well as securing Champions League qualification for the first time in two decades.

Newcastle as a collective have taken a step back this season amid an unrelenting injury crisis. However, Guimaraes has maintained his lofty high standards and two of the three title-chasers have taken note.

According to the Telegraph, Arsenal and Man City are set to do battle for Guimaraes’ signature this summer.

The two clubs went head-to-head for the signing of Declan Rice last year, with the Gunners emerging victorious when agreeing to a club-record £105m transfer.

Rice has helped take Arsenal to the next level this season and the prospect of lining Guimaraes up alongside Rice and Martin Odegaard in a devastating midfield three is a frightening one for Arsenal’s rivals.

However, Man City will do all they can to bring Guimaraes to the Etihad and how much each side must pay is set in stone.

A release clause understood to be worth £100m was inserted into Guimaraes’ latest contract with the Magpies. That deal was penned in October.

Interest in Guimaraes is materialising from outside of the Premier League too. French giant PSG as well as Spanish titan Real Madrid are both circling.

Key Guimaraes clue

However, the Telegraph were keen to highlight Guimaraes ‘has given the strongest indication yet’ that he may reject any and all proposals and remain loyal to Newcastle.

Any club activating the release clause can remove Newcastle from the equation. Nevertheless, they must still agree personal terms with the player and the report notes Guimaraes recently ‘bid for a new property in an exclusive neighbourhood in Northumberland and hopes to move into it shortly with his family.’

Guimaraes is known to be settled in the north east and it’s by no means a guarantee he’ll take his leave if Arsenal and/or City trigger his clause.

On the contrary, the suggestion is he will elect to remain at St. James’ Park despite speculation Newcastle do need a high profile sale in order to go again in the transfer market.

Striker Alexander Isak is another Newcastle ace the club could receive huge offers for this summer.

Manager Eddie Howe wants to keep both players for the long haul, but has previously admitted he can offer “no guarantees” to the club’s fans because Newcastle face a “difficult summer” due to a lot of “unknown factors.”