Nothing last forever, but Newcastle United probably didn’t expect the Eddie Howe era to unravel as it did when, only one year before, the Carabao Cup was lifted, Liverpool dispatched in the final at Wembley.
But the past year-and-a-bit has been tough for the Toon persuasion. They have been put not through the wringer, but the shredder, with the tattered remains of Howe’s project picked up by Matthias Jaissle at the start of the month.
If the Magpies hope to return to European competition after finishing 12th in the Premier League last year, they are certainly going to have their work cut out. Howe is gone, joined by Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.
It’s the skipper whose £75m sale to league champions Arsenal may have stung the most. But it’s understandable, with the Brazilian midfielder giving everything to this club, drawing down the curtain a modern legend.
How Guimaraes led Newcastle to glory
One year ago, Alexander Isak forced his way out of St. James’ Park and signed for Liverpool in a record-breaking £125m move. It was a move steeped in toxicity, but Bruno carried himself professionally throughout this summer’s draining saga.
Guimaraes was there from the start. Howe signed him from Lyon in a £40m deal when the PIF era was just getting started. No player made more appearances under Howe than Guimaraes, and club legend Alan Shearer once said that the 28-year-old was “at the heart of everything good” for the team.
Whether Guimaraes succeeds at Arsenal or not is immaterial; what matters is that he established himself as a superstar for Newcastle, the absolute linchpin for the Toon, guiding them into separate Champions League campaigns and indeed lifting the Carabao Cup as skipper.
Newcastle have signed a pair of talented midfielders to help offset the loss of Guimaraes and Tonali. In Sean Steur, 18, and Aladji Bamba, 20, Jaissle has a gifted playmaker and a ball-winning machine, but they are both going to take some time to click into gear, grow into their skin.
But the Brazilian’s leadership has arguably been more important than his actual technicality on the field. He has so often spearheaded his side forward when the going has gotten tough, and though the Toon have recruited shrewdly this summer, the newbies do not have the experience and strength in the Premier League to lead the way.
With the 2026/27 season almost upon us, it’s clear that Newcastle need to bring in a new midfield leader.
Newcastle calling again to sign new midfielder
Newcastle simply don’t have enough experience in the middle of the park anymore, with their two mainstays having fled to London for new challenges.
But if Fabrizio Romano is to be believed, the Tynesiders have “called again in the last 24 hours” for Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha, eager to hijack Aston Villa’s move for the Portuguese midfielder after their conditions were rejected by the German giants.
It’s been said that the Bundesliga champions are seeking around £27m for Palhinha’s sale this summer.
Palhinha, 30, played an instrumental role for an endangered Tottenham team last season, and though he is limited in regard to his creativity and ball-playing ability, he could replace Guimaraes as the leader of a lost Newcastle midfield.
He might not be a natural-born technician, but Palhinha knows a thing or two about commanding his midfield. Hailed as a “defensive monster” by analyst Marcus Bring, Palhinha has made a ridiculous number of challenges over the past several years in the Premier League, and he would bring some punch to a Magpies midfield that could do with such authority now that Guimaraes has gone.
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Joao Palhinha’s Tackling in the Premier League |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Tackles |
League Rank |
|
25/26 |
110 |
2nd |
|
23/24 |
152 |
1st |
|
22/23 |
148 |
1st |
A veteran, Palhinha might not have Guimaraes’ supreme technical command on the ball, but he is an unflinching and tenacious warrior of a midfielder, setting an example for those around him.
And he would at least cover a degree of the Brazilian’s skill, no longer at the core of St. James’ Park. Last season in the Premier League, Bruno won 2.1 tackles and 5.8 duels per game, first-rate numbers.
Well, nearly first-rate. For Palhinha at Spurs, he averaged 5.8 duels but 3.3 tackles per game.
Newcastle have announced that an Burn has been appointed captain for the upcoming campaign, now that Guimaraers is no longer at the club.
That’s probably the right call, but on the pitch, at the beating heart of a new system, Palhinha could issue the rallying cry that will help this outfit back toward resurgence.
