Why Newcastle should swoop for Guimaraes in a £38m midfield signing

Newcastle United can’t keep stumbling into trouble this summer, with supporters at their nadir after a recent blunder in the transfer window, with Aston Villa boycotting their £49m bid for World Cup star Johan Manzambi.

The truth is that Newcastle have no time to lick their wounds. Signatures are needed – urgently – before the new campaign, lest Eddie Howe’s shaky project crumble.

Manzambi, 20, is considered a midfielder who can do everything possible to do something fast in St. James’ Park, bringing a wicked mix of youthful enthusiasm and aging body and energy to the ball.

After all, Sandro Tonali has been sold to Tottenham Hotspur for £100m, and the captain Bruno Guimaraes is still in the team, he has made it clear that he wants to explore going to Arsenal, and Newcastle need to close their bases and replace him now.

Why Newcastle should replace Guimaraes this summer

Even if Newcastle can’t see well and keep Guimaraes in St. James’ Park in the 2025/26 season, it is important that Howe and those on the board are given time to replace him.

Why is this? Well, Newcastle have been in a bit of a transfer rut for a while now, their Midas touch in the market long gone, cursed to fall by the wayside in their efforts to strengthen Howe’s side.

The hard truth is that there is no guarantee that Guimaraes will still be there in September. Arsenal are interested in the 28-year-old, and personal terms have already been agreed.

If Newcastle come in, as they did with Alexander Isak one year ago, they will not simply sell themselves short. They need an experienced and reliable replacement brought in now.

Sean Steur has already been snapped up from Ajax for £23m, but that deal is a different part of the Guimaraes saga, being carried out on a completely different plane.

Steur is talented, but he is also only 18 years old. His composed, calculated style could see him emerge as Tonali’s long-term heir rather than Guimaraes’ dream replacement.

Whether Newcastle can sign a top goal is one thing, but at least the PIF have set their sights on the midfield profile.

Newcastle make the Premier League midfielder a priority

Guimaraes is a rare profile. He is “at the heart of everything good” at Newcastle, according to club legend Alan Shearer, and trying to replace him as Steur is sure to leave Howe’s side in trouble next year.

However, technical director Ross Wilson could find a replacement in the shoes of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Joao Gomes, who has shone for the Old Gold over the past few years, impressively last year despite their relegation from the Premier League.

According to The i Paper, Newcastle are working on a number of midfield options, and while Botafogo’s Danilo is also on Howe’s radar, the Tynesiders are understood to be big fans of Gomes, 25, in particular.

Atletico Madrid’s proposed £38m move for the Brazilian has fallen through, but Liverpool and Manchester United have both been linked in recent weeks. This is not what the Magpies want, but it is inevitable, if they have to plan to finally come up with players who can make a difference.

It says one thing about Wolves midfielder ‘Pitbull’, as he is known in his home country of Brazil, he says he can compete with opponents. In that, he would be the perfect follower of Guimaraes.

And that is an important factor to remember: even if Newcastle retain the services of their all-powerful captain, he turns 30 next year, and getting a successful plan good and early can have benefits due to the long-term stability of this project. We’ve told you, there’s no time to waste, and if the opportunity to sign a talented midfielder like Gomes really comes up, they have to grab it.

Signing Gomes this summer will beg the question of whether Newcastle believe they can hold on to their captain. Indeed, his playing style is more dependent on his own than Tonali’s.

In the Premier League last season, he won 6.5 duels and 3.1 runs per game, and completed 64% of his dribbles, qualities that saw him hailed as a “hero” by talent scout Jacek Kulig. There is something Guimaraes-esque about that approach, strong and convincing in his mastery of all actions. Given that the Wolves have been downplayed and lacked more than an inch of intelligence in the last quarter, it’s fair to say that he could come in leaps and bounds by joining the Toon.

But the hard truth is that Newcastle need midfielders, and they need them now. While Liverpool and Man United have both registered their interest in the Old Gold lieutenant, Newcastle must remain confident they can secure a transfer target this summer.

If you don’t shoot you don’t score goals. Although the Magpies’ batting has been over the last 12 months, they need to start scoring, and adding Gomes to the squad could be the catalyst for such a change.