Newcastle United have officially signed Brazilian international midfielder Bruno Guimarães from Lyon for £40million. Guimarães, 24, completed a medical in Brazil on Friday ahead of signing a contract at St James’ Park until 2026.
The Geordie club agreed a package of £33.3m plus around £6.5m in add-ons with French club Lyon to make the midfielder their third signing this January, following the arrivals of Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood.
The midfielder will play for Brazil on Wednesday and will not be able to travel to the UK to meet his new team-mates and head coach Eddie Howe until Thursday at the earliest.
A player blessed with incredible footballing artistry, tactical understanding, and a tenacious edge that has recently had him lauded as one of the most complete central midfielders on the continent.
Bruno Guimarães holds all the attributes needed to spearhead Newcastle’s exciting era under their new Saudi ownership and their push for Premier League survival.
Guimarães moved to Lyon from Brazilian outfit Club Athletico Paranaense in January 2020 and went on to play 295 minutes in their run to the Champions League semi-finals, as the French club famously beat Italian champions Juventus and then English champions Man City before being knocked out by eventual winners Bayern Munich in the last four.
Since then, the 24-year-old midfielder has proven key figure for the French outfit producing some stunning individual displays in midfield, and alerting top clubs around Europe to his incredible gifts and abilities.
Clubs like Arsenal, Juventus and Manchester United have all been reportedly interested in the Brazilian services in recent years, but its Newcastle United who have swamped in and claimed arguably their most impressive signing over the last decade.
The Brazilian has recently been described as an “all-court midfielder, giving Newcastle a bit of everything they lack in the middle… almost a ‘No.6-plus'”. Guimarães’ heatmap during his time in France illustrates he is a defensive midfielder by trade, one tasked in recycling possession, breaking up opposition attacks and screening in front of his back four, but his abilities transcend all of those traits. He’s also a footballer blessed with the attributes, skill and uniqueness to venture forward whenever the opportunities arises with such unerring grace.
As evidenced in the stat below, Guimarães utilizes possession of the ball adeptly, finding his teammates in more dangerous areas as well as passing the ball smartly out of tight positions, so Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe will hope he has found the perfect solution to Newcastle’s ball-retention problems.
Bruno Guimarães is not solely seen as a player who can aid Newcastle’s push for survival – although that is of course, the pressing concern – but the club have also the aim of making the Brazilian central and pivotal to their long-term project in making Newcastle United one of the most feared teams in the Premier League once again. Guimarães is the midfielder around whom the club want to build their ambitious plans.
No doubt about it, Newcastle’s starting XI will be considerably improved by the addition of a box-to-box type player who can break up play, link up with teammates, carry possession and, crucially when the going gets tough, help maintain it to relieve pressure. Newcastle’s ball retention issues have been evident all season, but Guimarães’ composure, craft and vision will begin to address that in abundance.
This season for Lyon, Guimarães has primarily operated as a double-pivot midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 alongside Maxence Caqueret which allows fluidity, control of possession through two players blessed in the art of keeping Lyon’s play flowing from deep areas. Guimarães suits various setups including Howe’s 4-3-3 preference, either as the deep-lying player in the no.6 role, or a free-roaming box-to-box player. As shown throughout this campaign, Guimarães has a versatile skill set on the ball.
Per FBref, his 87.2 touches per 90 puts him in the top 10 percent of midfielders in Ligue 1. Lyon favour a possession-heavy style as seen through their average possession 58.3% compared to Newcastle’s 38.5% – the Premier League’s lowest possession tally. However, possessing a player who likes to have the ball at his feet, Newcastle’s possession stats should grow considerably which means they won’t have to rely on just counter-attacks to score but also through fluid possession-style football.
Bruno Guimarães simply does not give the ball away. He’s completed 92.6% of his short passes for Lyon this season highlighting his incredible knack of setting the tempo for Lyon through quick neat and decisive passes.
He tops the ranking in Ligue 1 for passes completed in the opposition half and sits joint-top with Marseille’s Dimitri Payet for passes completed in the final third. The ability to find defence-splitting passes is illustrated by his high number of completed passes and chances created, while Guimaraes’ fouls won, and touches statistics show there are few more effective carriers of the ball than the Brazilian currently playing in France.
If you need any evidence of his metronomic abilities on the ball, you only need to check out his assist for Lucas Paqueta in the game against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month. Receiving possession, playing through PSG’s press, then advancing with the ball at his feet before caressing a delightful through over-the-top pass for his fellow Brazilian Paqueta to put Lyon in front.
Players like Allan Saint-Maximin, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser will be delighted at the rate and quality in which Guimarães finds his teammates with similar passes.
This season for Lyon he sits in the top percentile of midfielders in Europe’s top-five leagues for his abilities on the ball alone. For progressive passes (7.91 per90 mins) he ranks in the top two percent of midfielders on the content, and for progressive carries (8.7 per90 mins) he ranks in the top 3 percent which is simply incredible, but a strong proof that Newcastle have not only signed a player who could help them gain survival this season, but a player who could quite simply transform their whole game under Eddie Howe.
Also, Guimarães averages 1.81 key passes and 8.23 final third passes per 90 this season meaning he is incredibly adept at unlocking opposition defences with such fine regularity, something Newcastle have desperately lacked for a number of years since they possessed the qualities of French midfielder Yohan Cabaye under Alan Pardew. Remember him?
Given Guimarães’ excellent range of passing, he could complement or replace Jonjo Shelvey, Newcastle’s deep-lying playmaker who holds exquisite distribution like his new teammate but lacks the mobility, and tenaciousness when carrying possession. This season, no player in Ligue 1 has completed more progressive passes than Guimarães or passes into the final third.
Whilst also possessing the knack of playing key passes, the Brazilian also enjoys carrying the ball in order to evade opposition pressure or carry his team up the pitch. As evidenced above, his 8.7 progressive carries per 90 – carries that move the ball towards the opponent’s goal at least five yards or into the penalty area – place him among the top five per cent for midfielders in Ligue 1 and in Europe. He successfully completes 1.21 dribbles per 90, which is impressive for a defensive midfield player, he also averages 1.54 dribbles past an opposition player, and 2.53 carries into the final third proving he’d fit right at home in the Premier League due to his all-action and creative style.
Defensively, Guimarães is also extremely active and effective. His combative qualities have been right up there with the best in Ligue 1 this season, where he ranks fourth for duels won, seventh for tackles, and is joint-sixth for possession won in the middle third. His tackles + interceptions value per 90 reads at 5.11 which is again, an incredible reading. Guimarães ranks 25th for possession won back in the attacking third, an impressive additional quality for a defence-minded midfielder which speaks volumes for his ability to press all over the pitch.
As per FBref, his 423 pressures in Ligue 1 this season is the third-best in the league highlighting his all-encompassing style. Guimarães isn’t just a samba-style creator on the ball, but he’s warrior and a combative player off it too justifying his tag as one of the most complete midfield players on the continent. The stats highlighted throughout this piece tells its own story.
When you combine Guimaraes’ attacking and defensive qualities it’s clear Newcastle have identified a midfielder with genuine box-to-box qualities, a rare find at the best of times, let alone during a notoriously difficult January window which could be the difference between Premier League safety and relegation.
When you possess a footballer as good as Bruno Guimarães, beating relegation is a sure bet but its what comes after that the Newcastle owners will be hoping this particular investment will lead them through in not only building for the future but also attracting footballers with similar qualities and standing as Bruno Guimarães.
The exciting future the Brazilian has been promised on Tyneside may yet become a reality.
anthonyscouts.co.uk 