Bruno Guimaraes has been described as ‘the complete package’ by manager Eddie Howe, who was purring over his January signing’s performance in Newcastle’s 1-0 win over Wolves.
Guimaraes showed plenty of moments of Champions League level class during a victory which bumped Newcastle up to 10 points clear of the relegation zone, ending a three-game losing run.
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The win instantly lifted the mood at St James’ with the home support also able to see their star signing properly feature in front of his adoring fans for the first time.
Guimaraes is arguably Newcastle’s biggest signing since they became the world’s wealthiest football club, joining from French giants Lyon for a reported £35million in January.
But it wasn’t just the fans who were thrilled to see their Brazilian international walking out in his new home, his manager Howe seemed just as excited as anyone.
“I think they’ll love him and they already love him to be honest,” Howe said ahead of the win.
“He’s got that technical flair, but also behind it he’s got a real steel and resilience.
“He’s a winner. I see that every day in training, he’s got a great attitude so I think he is the complete package.”
The Magpies had a busy January window following their takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, but Guimaraes was seen as the biggest coup of all due to his hefty potential.
Moving to Europe from Athletico Paranaense, Guimares burst onto the scene by putting in a stunning display against Juventus in his second game, helping knock the Italian outfit out of the Champions League, before doing the same against Manchester City.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had such a quick start in England though, featuring for a combined four minutes in his first three games, before working his way into the line-up.
Howe explained why it took Guimaraes time to break into his eleven, and also why he’s now going to stick around.
“He’s going to be a mainstay of the team for sure,” Howe explained.
“I think the difficulty is we went on that winning run with the midfield of Joelinton, [Joe] Willock and [Jonjo] Shelvey and it was difficult to break that up while we were performing so well.
“But he’s had his opportunity today, I thought he was excellent, he gave us a different dimension in there but I’m really excited about what he can do for the team.”
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