The Newcastle United class of 2022/23 – Bruno Guimaraes | OneFootball

Here at The Mag we have asked 20 of our regular / irregular contributors to pay tribute to the 20 Newcastle United players who started two or more Premier League matches this past 2022/23 season.

To an extent guided by their preference, each writer has been allocated one player each.

This series of articles runs from Thursday 1 June to Tuesday 20 June with one player covered each day, each article appearing at noon.

This will be starting with the player who had the lowest NUFC squad number (Kieran Trippier), right through to the highest (Bruno Guimaraes).

Today’s Newcastle United player from the class of 2022/23 is Bruno Guimaraes, our thanks to Jamie Smith for providing this overview:

Your three stand out moments of the season for this player?

Three pretty different ones to be fair.

First would be against Fulham in January, where Bruno turned his ankle horribly, then limped and hobbled through the remainder of the game. All signs pointed to a worrying spell out (with the league cup semis looming) but he turned up at Palace the next weekend and continued to play through an obvious problem for the rest of the season. The lad has heart to match his ability.

Second would be an interview I saw with him not long after the birth of his little boy, (walking his dogs round Bolam Lake I believe) where he was clearly so happy to be here, humbled by the adoration the Geordie public has for him (and his family!) and providing a real settler to any fears his head might be turned. To have a player of this standard embracing the club, the people and the area so completely just gives you the buzz that something special is going on.

Third is the goal against Brighton, after a nervy second half Wilson settled the nerves then Bruno put the cherry on top with the fourth goal that all but claimed that CL place, and the sight of him stood precariously on top of that advertising hoarding right in front of me lapping it up with the crowd will be the defining image of a magnificent season for me.

What have been this player’s strengths this season?

I mean, where do you start?

There are some exciting players at Newcastle United these days but Bruno is the difference maker. His strength is getting the ball in the middle of the pitch and turning defence into attack. The way he protects possession and almost always picks the right ball (often a magnificent switch to the opposite side of the park) is the key to everything we do, and I think we are all keen to discover who the defensive midfielder will be who is drafted in to take some of the donkey work off Bruno and allow him to focus on the creative element further up the pitch.

There is also the heart I’ve mentioned above. It tells you everything that this Brazilian international came here without a relegation clause, fell in love with the place and is driving everything we do with full blooded commitment to the cause. Who doesn’t just love him man?

His weaknesses?

It’s not even a weakness but maybe he struggled on too much at times with that ankle injury towards the end. I would hope the break gives him a chance to fully recover and we never see it again.

Maybe sometimes a bit too keen in the tackle, such as the red card against Southampton and the one he got away with against Leicester, but as I say, he’ll have someone to do that stuff for him come August I’m sure.

Critical.

He does this thing on Twitter where he puts a picture up ahead of every game, and people start getting antsy when it doesn’t appear particularly quick, because everyone knows how crucial he is to this team.

Other people answering these questions have maybe had more of a highlight reel in terms of goals and assists to talk about, but Bruno’s mixture of graft and class produces a constant stream of great moments every game.

On a scale of 1-10, how important will this player be to Newcastle United next (2023/24) season?

10. It’s like a barometer – Bruno plays well and Newcastle win.

If he looks unsettled we struggle and I believe it’s a proven stat that we never win when he’s not playing.

Ah, I’ve gone ahead haven’t I.

Basically the same role but further forward, as I expect money to be spent on a deep lying midfielder.

This would mean Bruno can start distribution further up the pitch, or run forward himself and I’d maybe expect more goal involvements from a more advanced role.

In particular, I can see him finding some smashing balls in behind for the likes of Gordon, Almiron, Isak and Willock to run onto. We’re going to murder some characters next season I tell you.

He just needs to keep him fit and consistent in a more challenging fixture list.

Bruno’s attitude being spot on should make this easy enough. He could provide a bit of coaching on taking penalties maybe though?

What rating out of 10 would you give this Newcastle United team / squad for the 2022/23 season?

I’ll give them 9.5, which is harsh, but I wonder if the League Cup final could have been controlled more, so I’m docking half a mark.

In comparison, what would be the individual rating you’d give out of 10 for your player’s contribution this past season?

10. He’s class, he’s already a legend here and for me he’s the first name on the team sheet.

How gutted would you be if this player left Newcastle United this summer?

Completely, utterly and totally.

It’s not just the player, it’s what he represents and what he brings. He represents the transformation of Newcastle from also rans into a top team, the Brazilian international courted by Arsenal who chose to join our cause.

He brings the absolute focus of the team, he’s the hub, the central point and I feel the team should be and is being built around him.

Take him away and it’s sort of back to square one. I absolutely don’t fear his going though, and would expect the long-term contract to materialise any day now, that means he’ll be part of the furniture at Newcastle for the next decade.

Please predict what Eddie Howe’s first choice eleven will be next season and just put ‘New Signing’ if you think the NUFC Head Coach will bring in a new first choice for that position.

This is a stinker question at this stage.

Just saying first that I expect the first XI against Villa on opening day to include a maximum of one new signing as Eddie does his trick of bedding them in gently. Let’s say this though:

PopeTrippier, Botman, Schar, BurnNew signing defensive mid, Bruno, JoelintonNew signing, Isak, Wilson

For clarity, I think the squad rotation necessary to compete on four fronts will see plenty of game time for Willock, Almiron, Gordon and Murphy, as the settled every week XI becomes a thing of the past.

I can see us being priced out of Tierney and Eddie sticking with the Burn / Targett alternation at LB as funds are prioritised elsewhere. This looks increasingly like being Maddison and I would love the Barella rumour to come to something but I feel it might be another option sat there protecting Bruno.

Finally, a new right sided CB will be blooded but Fab will play a bit more I think.