£100m offer, Newcastle FFP deadline, Man City release clause stance - Bruno Guimaraes transfer truth

There was a brief flurry of excitement on social media on Wednesday night as a suggestion emerged of a submitted offer for Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes from Manchester City.

As it happened, the so-called 'in the know' accounts didn't quite have their facts right. Time is running out, however, for any interested club to trigger a lucrative release clause in Guimaraes' contract, along with an imminent Financial Fair Play deadline which could force Newcastle to sell players before the end of the month.

The futures of City midfielders Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are up in the air this summer, adding to the urgency to sign a new creative midfielder to future-proof the centre of the park.

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If Guimarares, 26, is the target - and he would certainly fit the mould of a Pep Guardiola midfielder - he wouldn't come cheap. Chronicle Live report that his £100m release clause in his contract can be activated until June 24, hence the speculation of a City bid at this point of the summer.

City have a history of utilising release clauses for players, therefore avoiding protracted bidding wars or costly negotiations. Whether they feel Guimaraes is worth nine figures remains to be seen, with his value then up to Newcastle. That could represent a saving on £100m, or may end up being more. They would definitely be reluctant to sell and have more power without an active release clause.

Another factor could be the June 20 deadline for clubs to submit their Profit and Sustainability Rules accounts, as part of the wider Financial Fair Play rules. Newcastle are reportedly one of the clubs who may need to sell in the second half of the month to avoid falling foul of the PSR limits. Both Everton and Nottingham Forest received points deductions last season for breaching those limits.

Despite that, Newcastle are keen to keep Guimaraes, with Magpies boss Eddie Howe saying at the end of the season: "We want to build our team around him. He’s an integral part of what we’re doing. His form has been very good. He seems very happy and settled here. He’s a big part of where we can hopefully take the team. But we’re not in control of that so we shall see."

Speaking in April, Guimaraes said on his future: "I don't want to look too long-term. I think game by game is the right way to think about it. Then let's see what we can achieve at the end of the season. [Qualifying for] Europe is what we want so let's see how we can go."

In March, Pep Guardiola praised Guimaraes hinted at how he sees the midfielder as a holding player rather than someone further forward. "He is an exceptional holding midfielder. He is aggressive, with the ball or without the ball," he said. "At set pieces, he's aggressive and is a real, complete holding midfielder since being at Lyon and now at a club who want to grow up and up. I'm sure he's part of the [Newcastle] project for the next years. Definitely."

Guimaraes is currently part of Brazil's squad for the Copa America, which could also complicate any deal if it was to be fasttracked before the end of the month.