Newcastle already have the next midfield “superstar”

Newcastle United are plodding their way through the summer transfer window, and while it feels like Eddie Howe‘s side are being hit with any number of setbacks, there is plenty of time to put it right.

Much hinges on whether the Magpies succeed in keeping Bruno Guimaraes at the club. The Brazil midfielder, Newcastle’s captain, is being chased by Arsenal; personal terms aren’t expected to be a problem as Guimaraes considers a career change in the prime of his career.

After finishing 12th in the Premier League last year, it’s understandable that the skipper might consider a move away, albeit no less painful.

Newcastle still haven’t properly replaced Sandro Tonali, let alone Guimaraes, but they do appear to be trying by lodging a bid for Lucas Bergvall.

What Lucas Bergvall would bring to Newcastle

The communication lines are open between north London and Tyneside, with Tonali indeed having completed a £100m move to Tottenham this summer.

Now, Newcastle are trying to return the favour by signing Bergvall, having already seen a £46m offer rejected for the Sweden international. Aged 20, he has already accomplished a lot, winning the Europa League in 2024/25 and drawing praise from Pep Guardiola for his “unstoppable” running ability on the ball.

Bergvall is an interesting midfielder, a strong carrier with a natural desire to drive play forward. However, he may not be the solution to all of Newcastle’s troubles right now, lacking the raw power and precision in attacking areas to make a marked difference.

Moreover, he has thus far failed to show a clinical edge when successfully carrying the ball into the danger area. Bergvall has scored two goals and supplied nine assists across 78 matches for Tottenham.

This isn’t to say that he doesn’t have what it takes to become an elite midfielder, but it’s worth remembering that Newcastle may already have an even bigger talent in the middle of the park.

Newcastle already have a bigger talent than Bergvall

Newcastle have signed Sean Steur from Ajax this summer in a deal which could rise to £23m. The Dutchman has all the attributes to develop into a world-class playmaker from the middle of the park, but it would be unfair to expect him to make all the difference from the get-go.

But it’s actually Lewis Miley who may still take the cake down the line. The England U21 star may well be looking toward a season of greater influence on Tyneside, given Tonali’s sale and the uncertainty around the captain.

Miley graduated from the academy and has made steady progress over the past three seasons in the Premier League, and it has been pleasing to see him take confident strides forward over the past 12 months, growing into his skin as a sharp technician in the centre of the field, so composed and collected in his decision-making.

Pundit Pat Nevin has actually claimed “Miley looks like the next young English superstar to make a breakthrough“, and the coming season could be his year, already performing at a higher level than Bergvall.

In some ways, it’s difficult to put an accurate gauge on Bergvall’s level when he was embroiled in a mess at Tottenham, but Miley faced adversity at St. James’ Park, and he came away with many fans warmed to his development under Howe’s wing.

Strong in the duel and an elegant and incisive dribbler, Miley shares with Bergvall many important midfield properties, and so you have to question whether it might be more prudent for Newcastle’s long-term success to invest their effort and resources into a contrasting midfield profile, someone meatier and more combative.

These are testing times for the Newcastle persuasion, but Howe and technical director Ross Wilson are fighting tooth and nail to put it all to rights.

Signing Bergvall would hardly be a bad thing, but perhaps it would be more beneficial to go down a different route, with Miley going from strength to strength and working toward becoming a mainstay at the heart of the project.