Newcastle United v Man City - Joe Buck preview
Newcastle United latest news: Pep Guardiola has again spoken about Bruno Guimaraes ahead of his side’s trip to St James’ Park.
Guimaraes has often been linked with a move to the blue half of Manchester during his time on Tyneside, with the height of those transfer rumours coming during the summer of 2024 when a release clause in his contract left the Magpies powerless to resist interest in the Brazilian if triggered. Ultimately, Guimaraes remained on Tyneside and was subsequently named as new team captain ahead of the 2024/25 season - one he helped guide his team to Champions League qualification and a Carabao Cup triumph in.
Guimaraes has continued to be a key cog in Eddie Howe’s team this season and has also stamped his mark on the Brazilian national team, becoming a regular under Carlo Ancelotti. It is unsurprising, therefore, to see Guardiola single the midfielder out for praise at his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s clash with the Magpies in the Premier League this weekend.
Asked about Guimaraes, Guardiola responded: “It’s not just this season, for many years, since Lyon we realised he was a special player. Newcastle make an incredible signing.
“He’s getting better and better. Always I’ve been a big fan of him.”
This isn’t the first time that Guardiola has spoken specifically about Guimaraes in the build-up to a game between Newcastle United and Manchester City. Back in 2024 ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final meeting at the Etihad Stadium, one the Citizens would stroll to a 2-0 success in, Guardiola described Guimaraes as an ‘exceptional’ player and tipped him to have a long career in the north east.
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“He is an exceptional holding midfielder. He is aggressive, with the ball or without the ball.
“At set pieces, he’s aggressive and is a real, complete holding midfielder since being at Lyon and now at a club who want to grow up and up. I’m sure he’s part of the project for the next years. Definitely.”
Bruno Guimaraes on Newcastle United ‘dreams’
Even before he made his debut for Newcastle United, Guimaraes had caught the hearts and minds of supporters who were desperate to see him pull on a black-and-white shirt. Since then, the Magpies have enjoyed a remarkable rise during his time at the club, culminating in a trophy lift in March and two Champions League campaigns.
In September, Guimaraes became the latest to join a select group of players to lead Newcastle United in a Champions League match when the Magpies welcomed Barcelona to St James’ Park. Speaking ahead of that match, the 28-year-old admitted he ‘didn’t want to put limits’ on what his side can achieve: “At the moment we don't want to put limits on our dreams - we just want to play game by game and see what we've got. But we're very excited, and hope we can go as far as possible."
He added: "I always look forward and I always look to make history with this club. It's nice to be in the Champions League two times in the last three (seasons) - that's unbelievable for us, so we have to keep going."
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