Bruno Guimaraes vs Youri Tielemans: why Man United got it right with £35m deal | OneFootball

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Arsenal have finally agreed to a £75 million deal with Newcastle United for Bruno Guimaraes.

That transfer will certainly have caught the eye of some Manchester United fans, given their midfield rebuild, and it raises the question of why INEOS did not go for Guimaraes when he was available.

Bruno Guimaraes transfer links

Not long ago, reports suggested the midfielder’s intermediaries had offered him to The Red Devils over a potential summer 2026 transfer. These claims were then followed by suggestions that Casemiro had also recommended the midfielder to the Old Trafford chiefs, fronting him as his heir.

Yet even after being offered Guimaraes and urged to sign him, the 20-time English champions never really made a concrete move for the Samba star.

That move was certainly never going to happen once INEOS went ahead and signed Youri Tielemans instead.

It is suggested, after all, that INEOS’ transfer policy is built around signing exciting young talent no older than 26.

Tielemans is 29, and Guimaraes is 28, so surely, had United been willing to compromise on their transfer policy, they would have only gone for one of them.

Tielemans was a better deal for Manchester United

For INEOS, ultimately, it was Tielemans who they believed would elevate their midfield, and statistics suggest they made the right call.

The Belgian is the better Casemiro replacement of the two.

Comparing the pair last season, as per stats from Squawka, it was Tielemans, not Guimaraes, who completed more tackles per 90, won more aerial duels per 90, won more ground duels per 90, and made the most interceptions.

Guimaraes was only better in clearances and ball recoveries. Still, even there, the 20-time English champions have effectively covered that gap by landing Andrey Santos, who is better in those areas of the game.

In the end, Arsenal paying £40 million more for a 28-year-old whose statistics fall short of United’s experienced midfield signing goes to show who may actually have landed the better deal.

The Manchester Reds needed to raise their technical ceiling and improve defensively at the centre of the park, and Tielemans, as a signing, offers them exactly that.

Surely the start of the season cannot come fast enough for the Old Trafford faithful to watch and enjoy the composed, tempo-dictating deep-lying playmaker that Tielemans is.