Newcastle United sign Bruno Guimaraes - His style of play and how would he fit in the side?

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Bengaluru, Feb 1: Newcastle United were almost at the top of the headlines throughout the January transfer window and that was showed in their activity as well.

It was a jam-packed debut window for the newly-rich football club with a heavy influx of new stars arriving on Tyneside. But out of all the arrivals, the transfer of Bruno Guimaraes surely shows their statement and power.

The 24-year-old also attracted attention from Arsenal, Manchester United, AS Roma and PSG over recent months however Newcastle managed to pass through to all the barriers to land him up. The former Lyon talent has been one of the best if not the best central midfielder in Ligue 1 this term and there's no doubt he would be a huge upgrade in the Newcastle United line-up.

Style of Play

Guimaraes is essentially an ideal defensive midfielder but can be effective as a box to box midfielder as well. Playing as a hybrid number 6-number 8 as part of a double pivot in Peter Bosz’s 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-2-1 system, the 24-year-old has recorded some remarkable statistics this season.

Incredible Stat

He is yet to find the net this term and managed just three assists so far but the in-depth analysis of his passing shows his influence on the park. In Ligue 1 this season, no player has completed more through balls (10) or made more passes into the final third (150) than the Brazilian midfielder. He also has managed to create 33 goal-scoring chances in Ligue 1 this season, with only Dimitri Payet (45) and Kylian Mbappe (37) creating more.

Not only that, his defensive numbers have been far more impressive than it. He averages the most tackles per game of any Lyon player and is joint-seventh for most tackles in Ligue 1. He is also a strong personality on the field, with only Angers' Jimmy Cabot (147) winning more ground duals than Guimaraes's 146 in Ligue 1 this season.

How would he fit in at Newcastle?

Guimaraes is likely to be the direct replacement of Isaac Hayden in the side. Howe definitely would benefit from his presence who can break from deep and help link-up play with the likes of Joe Willock, Sean Longstaff, Joelington and Jonjo Shelvey upfront. He definitely has the numbers and potential to be regarded as one of the biggest talents in world football but the main question would be now how quickly he can lift Newcastle to the next level.