Why Bruno Guimarães is Newcastle United’s best signing since since Alan Shearer’s world-record move in 1996
Newcastle United have made a number of great signings under Eddie Howe, but one deal in particular sits head and shoulders above the rest
When it comes to Newcastle United legends it’s fair to say that very few in history can hold a candle to Alan Shearer and for those of a certain generation that never got to see the likes of Malcolm Macdonald, Jackie Milburn or Bobbie Moncur, it’s fair to say that the former ‘entertainer’ turned Match of the Day pundit is very much in a category of his own.
Shearer is the all-time leading goalscorer for Newcastle with 206. He’s also the highest scoring footballer of the Premier League era and the fifth most prolific player in top-flight history, ranking second to only Jimmy Greaves in terms of strikers to have played after the Second World War.
He also captained Newcastle for seven years and opted not to join the biggest and most successful team in world football, Manchester United, to complete a move to his boyhood club.
To compare anyone to Shearer would feel like blasphemy for most Newcastle supporters, but it’s safe to say that the club may well have made their best signing in nearly 30 years.
How Bruno Guimarães won the hearts of the Newcastle United fanbase
When Bruno Guimarães first joined Newcastle United from Lyon. He was already off to a good start by turning down a move to Arsenal to move to the North East club.
Upon joining, he claimed that his ambition was to help the club reach the Champions League and put his name into the club’s history. This is something many players say when they join new clubs, but Guimarães performances very much lived up to these lofty expectations from the second he walked through the door.
Within six months of joining Newcastle, he inspired a side sitting 18th in the table with just two wins and 15 points from 21 matches to finish in 11th position.
The Magpies picked up 34 points from the final 17 games with Guimarães in the side as the Brazilian scored five goals, including a last minute winner against Leicester City, which Eddie Howe said at the start of last season was one of his favourite matches in charge.
“It just felt like a turning point for us and that game always sticks in my head,” Howe told the Shields Gazette.
By the time Guimarães finished his first full season, it soon became clear that he was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. He helped the club to a fourth place finish for the first time in more than 20 years, reaching a Carabao Cup final in the process while playing a fundamental part in helping the team with the best defensive record in the league.
He was soon linked with moves to Manchester City and Chelsea, but opted to remain at Newcastle, insisting that he had much more to offer in the years to come.
“I know what a title means for the club’s story. People grow up and they never see Newcastle as champions. My motivation here is to win a title for the club.” He said after signing a new deal in 2023.
Guimarães ran 423 km across 37 matches in the 2023–24 Premier League, the most from any player that season. It was a mixed campaign for the Magpies marred by injuries to key players around him. But the Brazilian showed standout qualities in a year where the Magpies were unfortunate to finish miss out on Europe in seventh place.
Guimarães has been Newcastle’s best signing since Shearer
Guimarães was given the captain armband at the start of last season and was a driving force behind Newcastle’s best campaign since being crowned league champions in 1927.
He played 47 matches, scored five goals and chipped in with eight assists, while starting every single league match as the club finished fifth returning to the Champions League while significantly ending a 70-year-wait for a domestic honour.
After beating Liverpool, he said: "This is my second home. We are making history. Some day, when I leave this club, I want the fans to sing my name the way they do to Shearer."
With each passing season, Guimarães is endearing himself more and more to the St James Park faithful. In many ways, he’s the embodiment of what a Geordie wants in a player, in the terms of the style in which he plays football - he’s all over the pitch, plays with his heart on his chest, fights for every ball and also brings and added South American flair and quality to the team.
This season he’s played in a slightly more advanced role but has showcased the strengths of his all-round game, with three goals and five assists.
He ranks in the top 10 this season for winning the ball back in the final third, but is also in the top 10 for successful passes in that zone. He is 11th for distance covered, while also being top for through-balls - such as the one in the channel that set up Harvey Barnes’ opening goal in a pivotal three points against Manchester City after a challenging period of results.
"He is a very special player,” said Howe. “His will to win, his determination, his drive to be successful is there every day. His professionalism to prepare himself to play is of the highest level and I think you get the rewards of that."