Manchester City are causing concern within Newcastle United amid the potential of a blockbuster January transfer window bid for Brazil star, Bruno Guimaraes.
The Premier League champions are widely expected to undergo some level of rebuild throughout 2025 and the markets available to Etihad bosses, with a number of key positions eyed for investment.
Many believe that defensive areas will be addressed by Manchester City transfer chiefs including the full-back role currently occupied by Kyle Walker, as the 34-year-old continues to cause concern over his declining performance standards.
Elsewhere and the central midfield ranks will almost certainly need a revival or additional depth, with the injury to Rodri leaving Guardiola light in that area of the pitch, whilst uncertainty continues to loom over Kevin De Bruyne’s future.
And in relation to both of those factors, one name that continues to emerge as a favourite of manager Pep Guardiola’s within the Premier League could potentially be targeted in the coming weeks with an audacious January transfer window offer.
That is according to the information of talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, who reports that Newcastle United are bracing themselves for a January bid from Manchester City over their club captain, Bruno Guimaraes.
It is explained that City recruitment bosses are expected to back manager Pep Guardiola in the upcoming window after he committed his future to the Etihad Stadium by a further two years, and Guimaraes features prominently on a list of summer targets.
From the side of the St James’ Park club, the report claims that Newcastle remain under pressure to sell players in order to avoid breaching Premier League spending rules and Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak are their two most lucrative assets.
Other options for Manchester City are likely to be emerging as the season continues, with sporting director Txiki Begiristain forming together a list of possible candidates to move upon in 2025.
It remains to be seen how much of an involvement Hugo Viana has on Manchester City’s transfer options for the summer, with the Portuguese official only expected to arrive at the Etihad Stadium following the conclusion of the current season with Sporting CP.
Begiristain and Viana are maintaining a line of dialogue throughout the season, and those communications are expected to intensify after the turn of the year as part of a transitional period for the 41-year-old ahead of taking the director role full-time from next summer.