Journalist Keith Downie believes that there is great excitement at Newcastle United over January signing Bruno Guimaraes.
Guimaraes has had pressure added to his name after he signed for Newcastle for a whopping £40m, which will bring great expectations for the Brazilian to perform.
The Brazilian midfielder has impressed this season for Lyon, averaging a SofaScore rating of 7.24 over the past 12 months. He featured 25 times for the French side this term before making the move to St. James’ Park, according to Transfermarkt.
Downie told GiveMeSport that there is certainly ‘excitement’ around the club concerning Guimaraes.
He said: “On the face of it, it looks like a good signing. And speaking to people within the club, this is as positive as I’ve heard them about any new signing.
“They were like that with Trippier as well, but there certainly seems an excitement from within about what he’ll add to the group.”
TIF Thoughts on Keith Downie’s comments about Bruno Guimaraes…
After the Saudi takeover, it seems that Newcastle have masses of funds, and the first big-name player that they bought into the club for a large fee was the highly rated Guimaraes.
Guimaraes has featured four times for Newcastle since signing but is yet to start under Eddie Howe. Therefore, you would imagine, based on Downie’s comments, that excitement will only continue to build and could potentially add pressure for when he does make his full debut in a Newcastle shirt.
After the introduction of Guimaraes, Joe Willock, Jonjo Shelvey, and Joelinton have seemingly raised their games because they know that the Brazilian is waiting for his chance to start.
Willock has scored twice in his last three games, whilst Shelvey and Joelinton were key performers in the Brentford win at the weekend, both getting above a 7/10 rating on SofaScore.
So, without even making a start for the Magpies, you could argue the 24-year-old has already made an impact by adding competition which has made the other players raise their game to ensure that they keep their place in the starting XI.