Newcastle United to offer £42m star ‘bumper pay rise’ and make club’s highest paid player ever

With the club preparing for their return to the UEFA Champions League next season it looks set to be a massive summer transfer window for Newcastle United.

The domestic football season ends in England this weekend with the FA Cup final between Premier League winners Manchester City and Carabao Cup holders Manchester United at Wembley Stadium. For all the other clubs across the country though, their attention is already on recruitment.

Ahead of a busy summer at St James’ Park the focus might not initially be on bringing new players in but rather on ensuring they keep a hold of the ones they already have. That certainly looks to be the case with the latest reports saying that the North East club are going to offer midfielder Bruno Guimaraes a ‘bumper’ new deal to fend off interest from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

The Sun claim that the club will offer the Brazilian, who has become a fan favourite at St James’ Park and a crucial part of Eddie Howe’s side, a new long term deal for £200,000 per week. That is a significant increase on his reported current salary of £120,000 per week (which is allegedly already the highest of any player at the club) and will make him the highest paid player in Newcastle United’s history.

Guimaraes, who signed for United last summer from French Ligue 1 club Lyon for £42 million, is also said to be ‘close to agreeing terms’ on this new deal. The same report claims that talks are in an ‘advanced stage’ which will come as a major blow for the European giants who had been interested in luring him away.

One of United’s Premier League rivals, Liverpool, were also said to have an interest in signing the 25-year old this summer. However, the fact that Jurgen Klopp’s side failed to qualify for the Champions League while Newcastle is thought to have ended any chance of that deal happening.