Newcastle star Bruno Guimaraes gives honest verdict amid Chelsea interest

Bruno Guimaraes insists he wants to become a "Newcastle legend" amid rumours Chelsea are interested in signing the Brazilian.

The Blues and Real Madrid are reportedly keeping tabs on the eight-cap international, 24, who joined Newcastle from Lyon in a £40million deal in January. He's become a fan favourite at St James' Park, scoring seven goals in 26 Premier League appearances.

It's believed Newcastle are considering handing Guimaraes a lucrative contract to keep him at St James' Park. The Magpies have a seemingly unlimited amount of cash to spend after a Saudi-backed consortium completed a takeover of the club 12 months ago.

Money aside, Guimaraes claims he's loving life in the Toon. "I feel at home," the midfielder told Sky Sports. "The experience I've had here has been amazing. Yes, sometimes it can be difficult to leave the house because everybody recognises me!

"But they [the fans] are always so friendly, so loving, not just with me but with everyone in my family. It's always nice when there are teams looking at you, but my plan is just to do my best at Newcastle. The rest, I leave with my agent.

"I have three or four years of contract left. It's so long. I swear I'm not thinking about other things. My focus now is just on Newcastle and the World Cup. There is a long way to go. I love playing here, I love to bond with the fans, and I want to become a legend here."

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Newcastle are expected to build a squad capable of challenging for silverware over the next few years. Eddie Howe's side are backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which was recently valued at an eye-watering $620billion (£534.3bn).

As well as Guimaraes, Newcastle have signed Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood, Dan Burn, Matt Targett, Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak and Loris Karius since the takeover. The impact of these signings is obvious, as Howe's side are fourth in the Premier League.

Newcastle have plenty of cash to spend in the transfer market, but so do Chelsea. The Blues are now under the ownership of Todd Boehly's mega-rich consortium and were Europe's biggest spenders in the summer, investing more than £250million into the squad.

Newcastle will be hoping to consolidate their position in the table when they take on Aston Villa at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon. New Villa manager Unai Emery will not be in charge of the team, as his tenure doesn't start until November 1.

On playing in the Premier League, Guimaraes added: "I think I was born to play in the Premier League. I love the atmosphere. I love the intensity of the game.

"It is the most difficult league, of course. There are no easy games. But when you play well here, it makes you think you can play in any competition. I think that, and the pressure when I came, has helped me to develop, to be the player I am now."

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