Revealed: The reason why Man Utd 'quickly' aborted blockbuster Guimaraes signing

22 Sept 2026 09:08 BST | 4 min read

Matthew Judge | Editor

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Manchester United “quickly” withdrew their interest in signing Bruno Guimaraes this summer after learning of his €87.5million (£75m) price tag, according to ESPN.

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The Red Devils oversaw a midfield rebuild in the summer transfer window, signing Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba for €173.2m (£148.8m).

While those deals were being thrashed out, United considered several alternatives including Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni and Roma’s Manu Kone.

The Old Trafford club were also keen on Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes before they joined Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.

© IMAGO - Elliot Anderson (left) and Mateus Fernandes (right)

And now ESPN Senior Writer Mark Ogden understands United also ran the rule over Guimaraes before deeming his valuation to be too high for their liking.

The Brazil international eventually joined Arsenal from Newcastle United, becoming the second most expensive signing in the Premier League champions’ history.

Ogden writes: “With Casemiro leaving for Inter Miami as a free agent and Manuel Ugarte, now injured, deemed not good enough for United, Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes were Carrick's top two targets to rebuild his midfield this summer.

“But Anderson left Nottingham Forest for Manchester City in a £116m (€135m) move and Fernandes opted to leave West Ham for Tottenham rather than United for £85m (€99m).

“United also considered Newcastle midfielders Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, but quickly ruled out a move for the pair, who joined Spurs (£92.5m/€108m) and Arsenal (£75m/€87.5m) respectively, due to the fees involved.”

United transfer policy comes into focus after poor start to season

Under the direction of Christopher Vivell, the head of recruitment at United, the club took a cautious approach to the summer transfer window.

The 20-time league champions were patient as they looked to find value for money in a market full of hyper-inflated fees, with spending in England reaching €4.07billion (£3.49bn).

However, that approach has come under scrutiny following a poor start to the season which has seen United win just two of their opening seven games in all competitions.

United legend Gary Neville was heavily critical of what he perceived to be a huge lack of intensity in the 1-1 draw at Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday.

Michael Carrick’s side have also received scorn for missing out on signing a left-back this summer, having considered a host of candidates only to end up empty-ended.

© IMAGO - Lewis Hall (left) and Alejandro Balde (right)

After United were unable to agree a deal with Newcastle to sign top target Lewis Hall, they failed with loan moves for Barcelona's Alejandro Balde and Man City's Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Guimaraes meanwhile has made six appearances for Arsenal so far this season, scoring a brilliant goal in the 2-0 win at Sunderland on 12 September.

However, the 28-year-old is currently licking wounds of his own after starting in the Gunners’ surprise 3-0 loss at Brighton and Hove Albion at the weekend.