Will star midfielder Bruno Guimaraes stay with Newcastle United?
By Cade Cracas
Newcastle United has seen some hiccups recently since finding tremendous success to start the 2022-2023 season.
With those hiccups resulting in zero goals scored in the last three games, a Cup Final loss and a knockout of the top five in the Premier League table, will these recent struggles have an impact on some of the current players on the squad?
Newcastle United has had players emerge this season as pivotal pieces, one of those being Bruno Guimaraes, who has locked down the midfield for the starting 11.
In contests that Guimaraes does not play, Newcastle United has gone from averaging 2.2 goals per game to 0.8 goals. This drastic drop in offensive production directly impacts both the confidence of the team and the results of fixtures.
Through six games that Guimaraes has not played in, the team has yet to pick up a win. Those contests came against Wolves, twice vs. Liverpool, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Bournemouth, four of those in which Newcastle was favored to win. The only questionable contests that could have gone either way with him in the squad would be the two against Liverpool, who is one of the top teams in the Premier League this season.
With his worth well known, the team has had high praise for its 25-year-old star.
“It’s an amazing thing for us to have him, it’s not just the player, it’s the person as well,” said Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe to BBC Sport. “I can’t say how good a person he is.”
The only concern comes on whether or not the recent struggles will affect his confidence in the club. He cannot be the only option, and while it is good to have a player with such a high impact on the team around him, not being able to win without him is a blatant red flag.
Alongside the offense struggling without him when he is inactive, the defense has struggled too. With him on the field, the team allows just roughly 0.5 goals per game, and without him, the team drops to a staggering 1.1 goals per game.
While these numbers may seem concerning, for a team that has been consistently in the double-digit rankings for years now, being one of the top teams in the Premier League has been a surprise this season.
There will always be hiccups, and while the fans recognize it, it seems as though these have not shaken Bruno Guimaraes at all.
“From the bottom of my heart, I didn’t expect to live the wonderful things I’m living here,” he said. “When I said yes to Newcastle, I was sure I was choosing a big project.”
He seems to be happy with his time with Newcastle United and has shown no signs of possibly leaving the team.
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Only time will tell if the team can bounce back and find its earlier-season rhythm as the end of the season approaches, but one thing is for sure: if Guimaraes is on the pitch, the team will find success.
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