Just now, according to the latest news brought by the British media Times Sports, Premier League giants Manchester City have accelerated the process of introducing midfielders. Originally, they were aiming to sign Newcastle midfielder Guimaraes to strengthen the team's midfield. However, Newcastle do not seem to be very willing to let the player go. The two sides have been in contact on a number of occasions before, and Newcastle have been adamant that either City will pay the release fee and take the player away, or the player will remain in the team.
As a result, although City have agreed a contract amount with the player personally, they have never been able to finalise the deal. In City's view, they could negotiate a price to sign the player, but £100 million is still a bit expensive. The team has been experimenting with a desire to keep the price as low as possible, but the release clause of the player is set to expire in the coming hours. Manchester City finally couldn't hide, and Times Sports revealed that the team's manager Pep Guardiola had recently spoken on the phone with Manchester City's top management. The bald boss wants the team to sign Guimaraes at all costs.
On this basis, Manchester City decided to pay a direct release fee of 100 million pounds, and the deal is now almost complete. To some extent, there are two main reasons why Manchester City chose to spend the release fee to sign Guimaraes. First of all, the first reason is that the team really needs to strengthen the midfield this summer. And the top management has a lot of trust in manager Pep Guardiola, no matter what type of player he wants to sign, as long as the team can sign Manchester City, the top management will generally be satisfied. At this point, Pep Guardiola directly asked them to sign Guimaraes, and City immediately did so. It doesn't matter if you shell out £100 million.
The second reason is also crucial, and that is that City do not want to repeat the mistakes of last summer. In last summer's transfer window, Manchester City were very close to signing West Ham midfielder Declan Rice. However, at that time, the Hammers asked for £100 million, and Manchester City felt that it was a bit expensive, so they slowed down their plan to sign Rice. Eventually, by the time Arsenal stepped in, the City hierarchy was powerless to push for a deal. Eventually, Rice joined Arsenal. At that time, in order to strengthen the team's midfield, Manchester City could only sign Kovacic and Nunes respectively.
The combined price of these two players is also more than £100 million, but the effectiveness of these two men is simply not comparable to that of Rice. After Rice joined Arsenal, he directly became the team's thigh. There are even many Arsenal fans who feel that £100 million is spent less, which is enough to show how good the player's performance is. But on the other hand, on Manchester City's side, neither Nunes nor Kovacic can play the main role, and even the effect of rotating players is not good. The £100 million was almost a drain, and City's hierarchy has been frustrated by last summer's hesitation. If they had decisively signed Rice at that time, it might have been different.
Therefore, Manchester City did not want to hesitate this time, and they immediately shelled out 100 million pounds to sign Guimaraes, so as to avoid a long night's dream. It is worth mentioning that Manchester City now regard Real Madrid as their biggest rival in the Champions League next season. Because the strength of the two sides is between them, Real Madrid brought in stars such as Mbappe and Engelick respectively this summer. The overall strength will be stronger next season, and if Manchester City want to compete for the Champions League, Real Madrid will be their inevitable opponent. Bringing in Guimaraes to improve their midfield is crucial and City must ensure they improve this summer, rather than standing still.
The player has played 50 games for Newcastle in all competitions this season, scoring seven goals and providing 10 assists. He could play as a new central player in City's squad. Sharing some of De Bruyne's functions, while also enhancing the team's midfield firmness, can be said to be a very key signing. So in your opinion, can Guimaraes' move to Manchester City improve their midfield? You are welcome to discuss in the comment section.