Pep Guardiola has made a major reveal about plans for his Manchester City squad after interest in Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes.
Guimaraes is one of Newcastle United’s most important players, so has naturally been linked with a move away from the club.
Indeed, Man City are interested in signing Guimaraes, although there is seemingly no pressure on Newcastle to sell.
Guimaraes has revealed he has spoken to Guardiola, albeit not about a transfer away from St James’ Park.
Now, the City boss has made a major transfer claim ahead of the summer.
- Who is Bruno Guimaraes? Meet Newcastle’s brilliant Brazilian lighting up the Premier League
Pep Guardiola threatens to quit Man City job
Speaking after his side beat Bournemouth on Tuesday, Guardiola insisted he would “quit” as manager if the club made his squad too big next season.
“I said to the club I don’t want that [a bigger squad],” he said. “I don’t want to leave five or six players in the freezer. I don’t want that. I will quit. Make a shorter squad, I will stay.
“It’s impossible for my soul to [tell] my players in the tribune [stands] that they cannot play.”
City, of course, are losing Kevin De Bruyne but still have the likes of Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan as capable midfielders.
They’ve also been linked with a number of moves for other midfielders. According to talkSPORT, they are strongly interested in a move for Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White.
With that in mind, perhaps that’s good news for Newcastle in regard to Guimaraes. If City are focused on other additions and don’t want a big squad anyway, Newcastle could potentially start to feel confident about keeping the Brazilian out of their clutches.
Bruno Guimaraes shockingly linked with Saudi Arabia move
Clubs in Saudi Arabia reportedly want to sign Guimaraes, although it’s hard to see that happening this summer.
The Saudi Pro League is awash with money, but the midfielder is just too important to the cause under Eddie Howe right now.
| Metric | Stat | Rank within Newcastle United team |
| Matches played | 37 | 1st |
| Starts | 37 | 1st |
| Minutes played | 3,181 | 2nd |
| Goals | 5 | 5th |
| Assists | 6 | 3rd |
| Tackles won | 46 | 1st |
| Inteceptions | 28 | 3rd |
With a World Cup on the horizon, quite why the 27-year-old would want to drop the level of his football is up for debate.
Ahead of the summer transfer window, all signs would appear to be pointing towards Guimaraes staying at Newcastle.
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