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Bruno Guimaraes gambled on a move to Newcastle United despite interest from Juventus as he “couldn’t wait” in a World Cup year, his agent says.
Midfielder Guimaraes is set to play for Brazil at Qatar 2022, having scored one goal and assisted three more in just 173 minutes across six qualifying matches.
The 24-year-old maintained that form despite requiring time to settle in England following a £35million (€42.1m) January move from Lyon.
Guimaraes was linked with Juventus and Arsenal among other top sides but instead joined Premier League strugglers Newcastle and had to wait until his sixth appearance for the club to be named in the starting XI.
It is a transfer that looks to have worked out for both Guimaraes and Newcastle, though, as he has subsequently scored four goals and assisted another to lead the Magpies into the top half of the table.
Since his first Premier League start, only three players – Cristiano Ronaldo (seven), Son Heung-min (six) and Gabriel Jesus (five) – have found the net on as many occasions.
Yet Guimaraes is just as comfortable engaging in the more combative side of the game, ranking second over that period for tackles (26), duels (123) and duels won (67).
Rival clubs may wonder how the breakout Selecao star ended up in a relegation battle, but agent Alexis Malavolta explained only Newcastle were willing to strike a deal in January.
In an interview with TuttoJuve.com, Malavolta said: “There was some contact with Juventus, I can confirm that.
“[But] January is a quick window to enter into negotiations, so we couldn’t go too long. We had to wait halfway through the month to see some concrete movements.
“Newcastle arrived, and they were serious. Bruno couldn’t wait another six months to decide his future in a World Cup year.”
Malavolta added Juve were “already interested” in 2020, with Guimaraes part of the Lyon team to eliminate them from the Champions League, but the French club asked at the time for €70m.
Instead, Guimaraes is plotting his future with Newcastle, who spent 150 days in the relegation zone this season but are now up to ninth.
In 2022, only Liverpool have earned more points (38) than Eddie Howe’s side (32), encouraging optimism for a potential European push next term.
“His goal was clear from the start: to help the team get out of the relegation zone and take them to the Champions League next season,” Guimaraes’ agent said.
“And why not try to win the Premier League?
“He has already made it clear in his interviews that he went to Newcastle to be a legend like Alan Shearer. He wants to leave his name in the history of the club.
