Now, with City aiming to win all trophies again next season, they have already been linked with one Premier League star hoping to take them back to the top in all competitions.

Man City looking to sign Premier League Midfielder

The player in question here is Newcastle United and Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães, who could depart St James’ Park this summer. Newcastle could have to sell the Brazilian this summer in order to comply with financial regulations, as this report from The Guardian explains.

This is where City could swoop in and take Guimarães off their hands. According to reports from Spain, the 26-year-old former Lyon man could be “the chosen one” when it comes to player sales at Newcastle.

The report goes on to explain that those clubs interested in signing Guimarães “will try to lower” the release clause in the Brazilian’s contract. As per the report, it is currently worth £100m and expires on the 24th of June.

Guardiola’s side are allegedly “on pole” in the race for the signature of the Brazil international. However, other clubs are also interested, with Arsenal “pushing hard” to sign Guimarães according to TEAMtalk. It could be a club-record transfer for the Gunners, should they bring Newcastle’s number 39 to the Emirates Stadium.

How Guimarães compares to Declan Rice

Since joining Newcastle from French side Lyon in the January transfer window of 2022 for £40m, Guimarães has been a revelation in the Premier League.

In 86 Premier League games so far, he has 16 goals and 14 assists, with the 2023/24 season his best return yet. During this campaign, Guimarães scored seven goals and registered eight assists.

The Brazilian is a wonderful all-phase number eight, and would slot perfectly into the midfield of Guardiola’s team. He is wonderful on the ball, and his progressive nature has been crucial for Newcastle during his time at St James’ Park. He was described as “quite similar to Rice in the way he plays” by Dean Jones in an interview with GiveMeSport.

According to Guimarães’ Fbref stats, he averages 7.80 progressive passes per 90 minutes this season, which ranks him in the top 13% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues this season. Not only that, he averages 1.87 passes into the penalty box per 90 minutes, placing him in the top 4% of midfielders. This could be pivotal at City when having to break down low blocks as they so often do, with opponents sitting deep and looking to hit them on the counter.