Newcastle United are confident of agreeing a deal to sign Bruno Guimaraes, sources have told ESPN, despite Lyon "categorically" denying a move is close.
Sources have told ESPN that Guimaraes has been offered four times his Lyon wages at Newcastle, and the move would see him earn £120,000-a-week.
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The midfielder is in Ecuador preparing for a 2022 World Cup qualifier match for Brazil on Thursday and could take his medical when he returns from Brazil on Friday.
However, statement released by Lyon on Twitter on Wednesday read: "Olympique Lyonnais categorically deny the false information across various media outlets which suggest an agreement between Newcastle and OL for the transfer of Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes."
Despite Lyon's statement, there is a lot of optimism on all fronts that the deal will go through now, despite Arsenal and Juventus also been interested by recruiting the 24-year-old.
Guimaraes, who starred for Atletico Paranaense and the Brazil youth teams, before joining Lyon in January 2020 for €21.5 million ($24m).