Bruno Guimaraes is the driving force behind the scenes at Newcastle United as the club attempt not to become distracted by the ongoing Alexander Isak talk
Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates Alexander Isak's opening goal against Liverpool
Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates Alexander Isak's opening goal against Liverpool
(Image: Newcastle United via Getty Image)
In testing times, you need your leaders to step up. Thankfully, Eddie Howe has assembled quite a few of them during his time at Newcastle United.
The Magpies’ summer has unfortunately been dominated by talk of one man - Alexander Isak - as he seeks pastures new, much to the despair and shock of the Newcastle fanbase.
But while one hero sees his stock plummet, others will no doubt benefit from this sorry saga due to their professionalism.
Bruno Guimaraes is certainly one to fall into that category, with the Brazilian attempting to make sure United’s summer does not derail as their club-record signing pushes for the exit door.
The Brazilian has been hard at work attempting to lift morale around Benton, while ensuring concentration is solely on the start of the Premier League season.
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As United's first-team and staff touched down in Singapore last month, having flown to the Far East without Isak on board, Guimaraes was the first to front up to the media to answer questions on the matter.
“My focus is with the lads," Bruno told reporters. “Alexander Isak is something I cannot control. The club has control of it.
The midfielder, who was made Newcastle captain at the start of the 2024/25 season, would go on to add: "We have had success before and we can have success again.
“I’m more focussed on the players we have here. My job for the club is to try to keep the lads motivated.
“We have to be calm. We have to be patient. We know the directors are working the markets. We have Elanga, who has surprised me a lot in training, unbelievable.
“Since I signed for the club I’ve always had this ambition [to compete and see good players arrive]. If I lose it, I’ll go back to Brazil and play there! I think the club has the same ambition as me.”
Eddie Howe has recently kept Isak away from his co-stars during training, while there was no invitation handed out to the 25-year-old for the club’s family bonding barbecue last week.
Isak was absent from the both Friday and Saturday’s St James’ Park action, as well as every other pre-season friendly of the summer, while Guimaraes dropped an impressive display against Espanyol last week, before watching his team-mates face Atletico Madrid from inside the stadium less than 24 hours later.
The skipper has had his own tricky transfer decisions to make in the past. After all, before being handed the armband there was plenty of talk around his £100m release clause being activated.
Bruno, personally, has never let that sort of attention distract or unsettle him. There was no transfer request or downing of tools when Manchester City interest emerged.
On Tyneside that goes a long way. Newcastle fans want to watch players who want to play for the shirt. Howe feels the same - and Bruno epitomises that.
Guimaraes will not be alone in trying to keep his team-mates on track, with Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn, Jamaal Lascelles and Jacob Murphy all part of United's 'leadership group' behind the scenes.
And Howe has been left impressed by the way the former Lyon man and his co-stars have handled the ongoing Isak situation, praising the group for not allowing the saga become a major distraction.
"I think the group has been disrupted, of course, but I think whenever you have a player in this situation, it's unsettling for the team," the Newcastle boss told reporters over the weekend.
"I don't think we've been in that position since I've been here, the harmony and togetherness of the group has been at its highest, so I think naturally it's just been a topic of conversation, it's been a distraction and the biggest hit we've taken is we're not blessed with a number of players in his position, so I think you've seen a big gap.
"But I have to say, big credit to the players because they've got on with their work, training has been of a really high level.
"I haven't seen a negative output on the pitch, but I have been aware of feeling around the group that there's something there that's not to the benefit of the group."