MY ACCOUNT
Bruno Guimaraes continued his excellent start to life at Newcastle by notching a double in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Leicester.
Having pounced on a Kasper Schmeichel mistake to level things on Tyneside, the Brazilian’s diving header in the fifth minute of stoppage time dramatically grabbed all three points for Eddie Howe’s men.
Ahead of the Magpies’ clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, we turn the spotlight on the defensive midfielder’s impressive Premier League introduction.
Easing him in
Newcastle fans had to be patient to see their marquee January signing in action.
Opting largely for more functional players with Premier League experience during the winter window, the £41million capture of Guimaraes from Lyon was certainly the club’s most glamorous bit of business.
But instead of throwing him straight into a relegation battle, Howe restricted the 24-year-old to just 41 minutes of action across his first five outings.
That was also partly due to the form of midfield trio Joelinton, Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock during an impressive six-game unbeaten run.
After the Foxes win, Howe said of his midfielder’s first few months: “There are two ways to look at it — there’s the person and the footballer, and I think the person settled in very, very quickly.
“From the first couple of days, he built good friendships and he seemed popular within the group because he’s a very calm, happy person and the lads seem to have taken to him in that respect.
“And the footballer, we were patient with him. We didn’t want to expose him too early to the Premier League while we had a winning team, we didn’t want to make too many changes to the team.
“But certainly, behind the scenes in the training, he showed all his qualities.”
Centre stage
Having started five of Newcastle’s last six games, Guimaraes’ quality is now clear for all to see.
Adding steel to his side’s midfield, the six-cap international’s 21 tackles since coming into the fold are his team’s most during that period, while he also ranks second for possessions won in the middle third (14) and passes completed (182).
His dynamism in that area also stands out. Only tricky winger Allan Saint-Maximin has completed more take-ons than his eight in that six-match sequence.
And he has already exhibited a penchant for the audacious, scoring a superb backheel volley to earn his side a win at Southampton on his first start.
Tyneside talisman
Sunday’s performance was undoubtedly his most memorable yet, topping off an influential display by racing the length of the field to get on the end of Willock’s cross and win his team the game.
Guimaraes has impressed so much that a certain Geordie icon is predicting the No39 to play a starring role in what is hoped to be a rapid rise under new ownership in the years ahead.
Legendary striker Alan Shearer told the club’s official site: “I’ve been really impressed with him. I think he can play a leading role in where Newcastle go over the next few years.
“He couldn’t get in the team to begin with due to the form of others but he’ll be a regular for years to come, If he wants to stay here and play a part, which I’m sure he does.
“I like everything I see about him. I like his aggression, passing ability and he seems to enjoy this environment.
“He seems to have enjoyed the reception he’s had off the Newcastle fans, and they like what they’ve seen already. Long may that continue.”
More to come
Having made such a fine start, Guimaraes will be desperate to back it up and prove to Premier League fans he is the real deal.
Brazilian flags in the stands and a personalised chant show he has already endeared himself to the Magpies faithful.
And his post-match interview on Sunday revealed the feeling is mutual — he did not hold back on his grand plans for his time at the club either.
The 24-year-old said: “What a feeling. What a day. The team deserved it and it was incredible to get my first two goals at St James’ Park.
“It’s always been my dream to play in the Premier League and Newcastle is all of that for me.
“I want to be a legend here. I want to play 100million times here. I feel at home.”
With fans having been starved of a genuine connection to their team for so long, Guimaraes already appears to be the poster boy of an exciting new era on Tyneside.
