Arsenal are ready to bolster their midfield options this summer, and they are now in contact over a deal to sign another Brazil star alongside Bruno Guimaraes.

The Gunners have made the Newcastle United captain their top target for the window, and the 28-year-old has informed the Magpies that he wishes to leave the club in order to make the switch to north London, with a £60m bid being prepared.

But now it has emerged that he isn’t the only Brazilian that Mikel Arteta is looking at to bolster his options in the centre of the pitch, with talks underway for one of his international teammates.

Arsenal Hold Talks to Sign Danilo Santos

REUTERS/Marco Bello

According to O Dia, via Sport Witness, Arsenal are one of the clubs who have been in talks over a deal to sign Botafogo star Danilo Santos.

Santos, who was previously at Nottingham Forest, has enjoyed a successful spell back in his homeland and was part of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for the World Cup this summer. He managed just 44 minutes over the five games, making four substitute appearances, but couldn’t stop them being eliminated by Norway in the Round of 16.

Botafogo had been hoping that he would continue his good form in the tournament in order to raise his asking price, but a lack of game time put a stop to that.

Arsenal are understood to have been in talks with the player’s camp for several months, and have been keeping a close eye on his situation.

Botafogo are currently valuing Danilo at around £30m, and now are waiting to find out if interested clubs are going to make their attempts to sign the midfielder concrete or not following the World Cup.

Arsenal Don’t Need Danilo

Arsenal showed last season that their squad is among the strongest in world football, and they were on the brink of a historic league and Champions League double.

Should they sign Guimaraes, he will join up with Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, and Christian Norgaard as senior options for central midfield. Norgaard may well leave, but Danilo doesn’t need to come in, because Myles Lewis-Skelly showed he is more than capable of making that position his own too.

Arsenal don’t need to do lots of work on their squad, and they shouldn’t spend money or add players for the sake of it. Danilo doesn’t improve them, so this feels like a deal to avoid at this stage.

Arsenal already know how much they will have to pay to sign Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes amid a bombshell informal transfer request. The Gunners are hoping to sign a new number 8 and a left-winger at a minimum this summer as they look to take the next step in their evolution, especially in Europe.

Newcastle star Guimaraes has been linked, but Arsenal’s chances of striking a deal were impacted by Tottenham signing Guimaraes’ midfield partner Sandro Tonali. Newcastle also lost Anthony Gordon this summer, leaving them with lots to do.

But on Wednesday it emerged that Guimaraes had asked the Magpies to leave, with his clear preference being Arsenal. That will have excited Gunners fans, but there are many more steps to be ticked off before a deal can be done.

Romano issues fresh Guimaraes to Arsenal transfer update

via Reuters

Transfer guru provided the full context to the Guimaraes situation on his YouTube show on Wednesday evening. He said: “My understanding is on the player side, Bruno Guimaraes wants to go to Arsenal. Bruno Guimaraes has clear desire to go to Arsenal, and personal terms would not be an issue. So, Bruno wants to go to London and wants to go to Arsenal. Then Bruno Guimaraes, from what I understand, didn’t tell Newcastle something in Alexander Isak story style, like one year ago, ‘Sell me or I’m not gonna stay here’.

“Bruno Guimaraes wants to be respectful with Newcastle. If Newcastle can reach an agreement with Arsenal, Bruno will be happy to go to Arsenal. If this doesn’t happen, Bruno Guimaraes will not create problems for Newcastle.

“So it’s a different attitude by Bruno..Bruno is not saying sell me or I’m going to create issues, that’s really important to mention. But Bruno wants to go to Arsenal, and now what is going to happen next? My understanding: sources involved and close to the story say that a transfer fee maybe around 90million could be the beginning of the discussion. Arsenal, from my understanding, are not offering 90 million at least at this stage, so it has to be negotiated.”

Arsenal may face transfer conundrum with Guimaraes

Arsenal have spent huge money over the last few transfer windows, and they will naturally have to tread carefully when it comes to Profit and Sustainability rules Having become a profit machine during their success of late, the Gunners can still spend big money, but they will need to balance their spend, at least partially, with sales.

The question is whether they can afford to spent £90million on Guimaraes and then go and spend a similar – or even greater – total on a winger. The Gunners like Morgan Rogers, but he could cost £130million, and if they end up paying that money, a £90million deal for Guimaraes is likely out of the question unless they can sell one of their more expensive and important players. It’s also worth keeping in mind that both Guimaraes and Rogers – or whichever attacker Arsenal go with – are also going to be expecting huge wages.

Tottenham Hotspur have already completed six signings in what has been a remarkable summer transfer window to date, but they are far from being finished.

Tottenham completed the impressive free transfer signings of Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi early on, with the experienced Premier League duo joined by Jan Paul van Hecke and Martin Dubravka as Roberto De Zerbi completely reshapes his defensive line.

Spurs’ next business was even more impressive though, as they beat off competition from the biggest clubs in the Premier League to land Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali in an astonishing double midfield swoop, with West Ham United and Newcastle United receiving a combined £185m for their players.

With half-a-dozen new faces arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, departures are also expected following successive 17th-place finishes in the English top flight, with Cristian Romero, Luka Vuskovic, Richarlison and Djed Spence among the players who could complete transfers away from north London.

Tottenham’s new transfer focus in terms of incomings is now further forward, as they look to bolster a frontline that will be without Randal Kolo Muani next term following a disappointing season-long loan spell from Paris Saint-Germain.

A new winger and striker could arrive, with the left-flank the particular area the club is looking to strengthen.

Rafael Leao Agrees to Join Tottenham

via Reuters

AC Milan winger Rafael Leao publicly confirmed earlier this summer that he wants to explore a new opportunity away from the San Siro, following seven years with the Serie A giants.

The Portugal international, who will be on his way home from the World Cup after his nation were beaten by Spain in the round of 16, is a target for Saudi Arabian clubs, but his real desire is to move to the Premier League.

According to journalist Daniele Longo, Leao is willing to wait for a move to Tottenham this summer and is ready to say yes to linking up with De Zerbi in the English capital.

Leao Would be a Savinho Upgrade

via Reuters

While Pep Guardiola has always waxed lyrical about Savinho, his lack of starts and minutes in general last term sum up a largely underwhelming City career to date.

The Brazilian would arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Premier League experience in tow, but he is clearly far from the finished article after a season where he contributed four goals and three assists in 36 appearances in all competitions.

At 22 years of age, the forward has time on his side, but we also know that De Zerbi likes players who will do a great job for Spurs right now.

Step forward Leao, who has been doing it at one of the biggest clubs in Europe for seven years now, in both Serie A and the Champions League.

While his consistency levels have dropped over the last season or two, Leao continues to exhibit his ridiculous pace and trickery on a regular basis.

De Zerbi is said to want to add speed to his attacking line, and there won’t be many better options on the market, and for a reported decent price in the modern era, than the ‘world-class’ Portuguese forward.