Stephen Warnock has sung the praises of Bruno Guimaraes as the Brazilian returned to the Newcastle United starting XI against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
Bruno Guimaraes ‘hugely impressive’ as Stephen Warnock hails Newcastle star
Eddie Howe recalled the ‘hugely impressive’ Bruno Guimaraes to his Newcastle United side at home to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. And speaking before the Premier League affair, Stephen Warnock lauded the Brazilian on Sky Sports News (17/9, 14:35) for what he offers.
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Guimaraes missed the Toon’s last three top-flight matches after the 24-year-old picked up a hamstring injury in August. He sustained the gripe during the Magpies’ EFL Cup win away to Tranmere Rovers, a tie in which he only came off the bench to play the last five minutes.
Howe had benefited from Guimaraes playing an uninterrupted role in Newcastle’s opening three Premier League games this term. The eight-cap Selecao international set the tone at St James’ Park through his ability to dictate proceedings from a deep-lying central position.
Whenever on the pitch, Howe can usually rely on Guimaraes battling from the first whistle until the last. But the Toon boss missed his £35m, rising to £41.5m, January purchase from Lyon in recent weeks whilst waiting for the Toon anchor to overcome his hamstring injury.
Eddie Howe will be hoping for injury-free international break after call-up
Guimaraes has left Warnock in awe with his performances since joining Newcastle in the mid-season market earlier this year. The player-turned-pundit effusively praises what the Rio de Janeiro native adds to the engine room at St James’ Park and why Toon fans adore him.
“He’s their new hero, the new talisman for the club,” Warnock stated. “They love what he brings, that energy, the tenaciousness in midfield but also the quality on the ball, when he’s on the ball. Extremely clever.
“He’s very clever at buying free-kicks for his team, and giving free-kicks away in clever positions. So, [he’s an] extremely streetwise footballer so, yeah, hugely impressive player.”
Having welcomed Guimaraes back to the Newcastle fold against Bournemouth, Howe will now be holding out hope that he will return from international duty with Brazil injury-free. Tite named the £120k-a-week ace in his Selecao side for friendlies with Ghana and Tunisia.
Brazil play their last games before travelling to Qatar for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in France against Ghana and Tunisia on September 23 and 27th, with Guimaraes likely keen to shine.
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