£77m star is Newcastle’s dream Guimaraes replacement

There’s a growing sense that Newcastle United‘s campaign is in jeopardy, and a ball hasn’t even been kicked.

It feels like the Magpies’ grand plans have flaked away, with a degree of aimlessness from the top level inhibiting Eddie Howe and ultimately confirming to the 48-year-old that he had taken the Toon as far as he could.

Matthias Jaissle has stepped in as Howe’s successor, and Newcastle have made a number of exciting additions across the park, but losing Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali will be hard to counter for an under-performing outfit who slumped to a 12th-place Premier League finish last season.

Newcastle might struggle to reach their previous heights over the coming year, but if Jaissle and co can steady the ship, the future may yet be bright for the Toon.

Meet Newcastle’s new stars for the future

For all the doom and gloom surrounding Newcastle right now, St. James’ Park will welcome a number of exciting new signings at the start of a new chapter.

The glass-half-full perspective would be to consider the Magpies’ bright future, looking at new midfielders such as Aladji Bamba, signed from Monaco for £35m, and Sean Steur, a ball-playing specialist from Ajax who has impressed during pre-season.

The issue, of course, is that the two midfielders offer a combined age of 38, and whether they have the capacity at this early stage of their careers to step in for Guimaraes and Tonali, who will bank PIF nearly £200m this summer (should the skipper’s move to Arsenal go through).

Newcastle need to make a midfield signing of greater seniority if they want to return to the top next season. Guimaraes has not just been a leader and focal point from the middle at Newcastle, but an almost inimitable presence, the perfect all-action midfielder.

Bamba, a tough-tackling machine, and the elegant Steur may well impress throughout the season, but neither will match his impact, and Newcastle need more.

Newcastle making progress in move for Bundesliga midfielder

Guimaraes, 28, is almost irreplaceable for the Newcastle persuasion, but he was never going to stick around forever, and Newcastle are at least going to make a considerable profit

According to L’Equipe over in France, Newcastle are making good progress in their bid to sign Felix Nmecha, who has been priced at €90m (£77m) by Borussia Dortmund.

The 25-year-old is highly-regarded by the Newcastle hierarchy, but his stock has only ballooned since standing out for a sub-standard Germany side at the World Cup, and he would bring culture and experience to Jaissle’s midfield, balancing an equilibrium knocked by Tonali departure and now Guimaraes’ expected sale, and not yet settled by a number of youthful signings.

Bamba and Steur are talented, but both inexperienced on the major stage. Nmecha, conversely, showed at the World Cup that he can produce all-actions displays on par with someone like Guimaraes.

Bamba impressed with Monaco in Ligue 1 last season, but he only started ten games. That said, there is an awful lot to like, and the same could be said for Steur, whose gifted on-the-ball ability could be invaluable in countering the loss of Bruno and Tonali.

But Nmecha is a cut above. Former Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann believes his protege has “everything needed to be one of the best midfielders in the world”, with his “world-class” potential now starting to be realised.

It would be an ambitious way to replace Guimaraes from the get-go. He caught the eye for his nation this summer, but that form was a continuation of the strong performances he has produced over the past year for Dortmund, finishing the term among the top 6% of midfielders for big chances created, the top 5% for tackles won and the top 11% for duels won per 90, speaking of his all-encompassing nature.

Bamba and Steur represent a bright future for Newcastle, but there are few guarantees that either will hit their peaks across the upcoming year. In fact, it would be remarkable if either of them sustained first-class performances across the campaign.

The maturity and roundedness of Nmecha could lift both stars and indeed the wider Newcastle project.