Shay Given has lauded Newcastle United’s new boy, Bruno Guimarães, and praised him for bringing ’so much energy’ to the club, as he told Premier League Productions.
The former Premier League goalkeeper joked that it took him ‘nearly 12 years’ to become a fan favourite at Newcastle, yet Guimarães has already won the hearts of the Geordies.
When the all-action midfielder first joined from Lyon during the January transfer window, he had to resort to minutes off the bench.
Eddie Howe didn’t want to disrupt his winning XI, before eventually bringing him into the fold, so he can showcase his magic, including scoring a brace against Leicester City over the weekend.
It could be argued that, between Guimarães and Keiran Trippier, they were the standout signings for the Magpies during the winter transfer window, as Given lauded what the midfielder is bringing to the table.
“He was on the bench for the first four or five games and you were like ‘Eddie play him, just play him’,” said Given.
“But over the weekend, he got two goals. I heard he is a fan’s favourite. It took me nearly 12 years to be a fan’s favourite. And he’s been there 12 minutes.
“Rightly so, he brings so much energy to the club – they have got a hero on their hands. There were some big clubs linked with him, but Newcastle have got a brilliant player there.”
Not many Newcastle fans would have envisaged that they would be in such a situation heading into the final few weeks of the season.
At the start of the campaign, there were fears that Steve Bruce would still be in the dugout, with Mike Ashley pulling the strings at the top.
They had been relegated twice before under his stewardship and it would have been number three if he had stayed on.
But now, players like Guimarães, alongside Howe on the touchline, have brought some life, energy, enthusiasm and hope back to this football club.
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