Arsenal sell three stars to fund £100m deal

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 1 May 2024 13:50 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal have put three homegrown players up for sale this summer in an attempt to fund the transfer of Bruno Guimaraes.

According to Football Insider, the Gunners are prepared to pay the the €117 million (£100m) release clause in Bruno’s Newcastle contract.

This clause is only valid until June 30, which means Arsenal have a race against time to raise the funds required to fund the deal.

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Arsenal cannot sign Guimaraes without first making sales as they will breach the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

The best way to avoid breaching these rules is to sell homegrown players, as academy graduates represent pure profits - in terms of capital gains - on the club accounts as they were not signed for a transfer fee.

As a result, Mikel Arteta has chosen to sell Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah this summer to fund a move for the Newcastle United star.

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All three players are squad players at the club, and Arteta is happy to sell them.

Nelson has started just five games this season, Smith Rowe has been plagued by injuries and is unhappy with his lack of opportunities, while Nketiah is third in the striker pecking order with Arsenal also looking to sign another number nine this summer.

Bruno has emerged as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and all of Europe since joining Newcastle from Lyon in 2022.

He played a key role in taking Newcastle into the Champions League last season and has admirers all over Europe.

Bruno has also been linked with a summer transfer to Manchester City, who see him as a potential successor to Kevin de Bruyne.

At the age of 26, Bruno is now approaching his peak and he would consider a transfer away from Newcastle if the release clause is met.