Chris Waugh has revealed on Pod on the Tyne what he was told about Bruno Guimaraes when Newcastle United signed the midfielder.
Guimaraes had a tough start to life to Tyneside as he failed to start in any of his first five matches in the black and white shirt, however, he now appears to be undroppable, especially after his latest display where he netted a match-winning brace against Leicester City.
Should Newcastle build a team around Guimaraes?
Yes!
No!
During the Brazilian’s time at Lyon out in Ligue 1, he only managed three goals in 71 appearances with one of them also coming from the penalty spot. However, he appears to be showing much more of a threat in the final third on Tyneside, as he is already the club’s third-highest goalscorer this season with his three strikes.
Waugh, who spoke to people that had watched Guimaraes closely before he signed, reveals what they told him to expect from the midfielder.
He said: “People call him a number six or defensive midfielder, but I spoke to someone when Newcastle first signed him and they said they think they’ve got like a number six-plus here, and that’s what you see in him.
“He brings so much in that all-round game, and I mean, he covered the most distance, he was everywhere, he was the one who was trying to make things happen. And obviously, he gets the two goals, which was not why Newcastle signed him, they didn’t think he was going to be bringing goals galore.”
TIF Thoughts on Guimaraes…
The Brazil international has started five of the last six games under Eddie Howe and has come in for a large amount of praise across Tyneside and further afield, so PIF managing to bring in Guimaraes in January ahead of clubs such as Juventus and Arsenal appears to be a masterstroke.
Under Howe, Guimaraes appears to be thriving in this new role that allows him to get further forward and impact games knowing that he has Jonjo Shelvey behind him the majority of the time, with the experienced midfielder operating in a deeper role – something that is highlighted by the average positions of Newcastle’s players on Sunday.
In other news: ‘He was a laughing stock’ – Sky Sports man blown away by ‘remarkable’ Newcastle ace