Man City’s first summer move may have leaked as Bruno hails Guardiola

Manchester City V Newcastle United: Pictures

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Manchester City may already be moving closer to their first summer signing after Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes praised his relationship with Pep Guardiola following the weekend’s match between the two sides. The Brazilian has been linked with a move to the Etihad in the past after instantly impressing in the Premier League following his switch from Lyon last January.

Guimaraes has been central to Newcastle’s transformation under Eddie Howe during the last 12 months. He scored crucial goals in the latter part of last season to keep the club in the Premier League but it has been from a deeper-lying midfield position that the Brazil international has done much of his best work this year.

The 25-year-old dictates much of what the Magpies try to do on the ball from deep and is widely regarded to be one of, if not the, best player in the Premier League outside the traditional ‘big six’.

As a result, he has unsurprisingly been linked to clubs across the Premier League and Europe. 90min has previously reported that City are among the teams interested while Real Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea have all monitored his progress. However, Guimaraes’ latest comments suggest the Sky Blues could be leading the race if he did decide to leave St James’ Park thanks to his relationship with Guardiola.

“Pep said I was ‘bueno’, good!” he told ESPN Brazil. “We have a good relationship, we have already talked a few times. For me, Pep’s a genius, the best coach in history.”

Guimaraes would fit in well at City given his ability on the ball and flexibility to play in both the No 6 and No 8 positions. Kalvin Phillips has failed to impress since being signed to fulfil this role over the summer while club captain Ilkay Gundogan is out of contract in the summer and could depart, with the Brazilian posing as the perfect replacement.

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However, any move for Guimaraes would be complicated by Newcastle’s ambition to offer him a new deal. 90min has also reported that Toon officials are confident terms can be finalised before the end of the season with a substantial payrise likely to be on the table.

Guimaraes is also a fans favourite at St James’ Park and appears to be settled in the north-east so it remains to be seen whether or not he would give that up. The situation will be one to monitor in the coming months until the 25-year-old puts pen to paper on a new deal.

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