If Newcastle fans weren’t already excited about the signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Olympique Lyon, then they surely will be after his impressive cameo for Brazil overnight.
The Magpies’ statement £40m deadline day signing was an unused substitute when the Seleção drew 1-1 with Ecuador a few days ago.
But he was given 17 minutes plus injury time to make an impression against Paraguay – replacing Philippe Coutinho – and he did just that.
His standout contribution was setting up the hosts’ fourth and final goal in Belo Horizonte, unselfishly squaring for Real Madrid attacker Rodrygo to tap into an unguarded net in the 88th minute.
It wasn’t just the assist that should excite Newcastle fans, though.
Newcastle signing Guimaraes impresses for Brazil
His overall stats were excellent.
Guimaraes completed 24 of his 25 attempted passes during his time on the pitch, giving him an excellent pass accuracy percentage of 96% [SofaScore].
He also won both of his ground duels and made two successful tackles, only losing possession once.
The 24-year-old’s only shot failed to hit the target but his assist helped him to a very respectable SofaScore rating of 7.5.
Newcastle fans must be pinching themselves to have a player involved in the Brazil setup and they’ll be hoping that Guimaraes can be similarly efficient on the ball and strong out of possession in the Premier League.
The Magpies are currently 18th in the table but they strengthened considerably last month and will be confident of pulling clear of a relegation scrap relatively quickly if Guimaraes and co. hit the ground running.
Then, the exciting work can begin, with European football and silverware targeted in the coming seasons.
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