Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy has been discussing Bruno Guimarães and how well he has settled into life at the club.
The past few weeks of the Brazilian’s life have certainly been a rollercoaster.
There were a number of English clubs reportedly interested in signing him before Newcastle joined the race, but things took a peculiar turn when his former club Lyon were forced to make a statement regarding his future in the middle of the saga before a deal was eventually done.
International duty with Brazil delayed his arrival to the club, and so far he’s only been able to make cameo appearances in the Premier League.
Speaking on the latest edition of NUFC Matters, following a discussion about the team’s recent performances, which have seen Eddie Howe’s men go unbeaten in their past five games in the league, Kennedy pointed out that while they have managed to do so without seeing much of their January signing, the feeling within the club is that he could well turn into a special player for the side.
He said: “Of course, you’ve got that £40m midfielder in Bruno to inject into the side. And from all reports I’m hearing from people in and around who see him in training every day, they’re just blown away by how good this lad is, like incredibly good. So there’s still that to come into the team.”
TIF Thoughts on Liam Kennedy’s comments about Bruno Guimarães and Newcastle United…
Can Guimaraes keep Newcastle up?
Yes!
No!
Whilst you can understand why Newcastle might want to ease him into things given the Premier League’s notoriety when it comes to players adapting, you feel that if the club are that happy with his talent, he should be starting more – or at least getting more minutes off the bench.
He was described by South American football expert Tim Vickery as “a big character, strong, competitive and determined, the type to step up at key moments – exactly the kind of player to cope with the pressures of a relegation struggle”.
But at the moment, he’s being held back within the Newcastle side, and you feel that if the Magpies want to give themselves the best chance of securing their place in the Premier League next season, they need to start making him a more prominent member of the side sooner rather than later.
In other news: ‘The next captain of Newcastle’ – Eddie Howe tipped to make huge summer decision