Chelsea Will Consider Another Arsenal Transfer Hijack But On One Condition
Chelsea are “keeping a close eye” on negotiations between Arsenal and Newcastle for Bruno Guimaraes, according to reports.
TEAMtalk claim that the Blues WON’T enter the fray unless they get a signal that the Magpies are willing to sell their captain.
However, if Guimaraes does become available, they may seriously consider hijacking Arsenal’s transfer, having already secured the services of Morgan Rogers from under the Gunners’ noses.
At the time of writing, Newcastle have maintained their stance that Guimaraes is going nowhere despite the player having made it clear he is keen on leaving St James’s Park after four and a half years.
Chelsea are keen on recruiting a midfielder
Xabi Alonso’s side have already made attempts to buy Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott this summer.
They had an £8m offer rejected for the former and a £64m bid knocked back for the latter.
It’s clear that Alonso wants a steady presence in the middle of the park, and Guimaraes would certainly provide him with that if he were to make the switch to Stamford Bridge.
The 28-year-old possesses leadership qualities too, which is also something that Alonso is keen on adding to the first-team squad.
The Blues will have a tough time persuading Guimaraes
The Brazilian international has a great deal of affection for Newcastle, and one of the main reasons why he is open to joining Arsenal is that he harbours ambitions of playing at the highest level.
Chelsea don’t have Champions League football, and they finished just two positions above the Magpies last season, so Guimaraes may not necessarily be open to the transfer.
Alonso has already shown how persuasive he can be, though, having managed to tempt Marco Palestra and Rogers into joining despite strong interest from the likes of Inter Milan and Arsenal.
