Wolves had a howler over Bruno Guimaraes transfer
As per Tim Spiers’ latest report for The Athletic, Wolverhampton Wanderers had an opportunity to move for former Lyon and now Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
24-year-old Guimaraes had attracted the attention of Europe’s finest outfits after another impressive campaign with Lyon in Ligue 1.
The notable sides who were interested in signing the Lyon star were Arsenal and Newcastle, with the latter signing him for £33.3m plus £6.5m in add-ons.
Spiers states in his report that Wolves “courted” the Brazilian star, before he completed his move to St James’ Park.
Wolves fans, would you take Guimaraes?
Yes
No
“The Best”
Newcastle United’s signing of the 24-year-old has turned out to be nothing short of astute, nor mesmeric.
Despite arriving as one of the most prominent central defensive midfielders around, Howe has been blown away by his technical ability and wants the Brazilian on the ball as much as possible.
As such, he has primarily functioned as a central midfielder for Newcastle United this season – a position that Wolves desperately need with the reported potential outgoings of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker.
Bruno Lage will surely regret not moving for the No.39 wearing midfielder after he watched him run the show when the two sides met in Wolves’ 1-0 defeat to Howe’s side in early April, completing 86% of his passes, 100% of his dribbles and winning a whopping 12 duels.
Guimaraes, who has been described as “the best” by journalist Charlie Bennett and as “out of this world” by Tom Barclay, has discovered his goalscoring touch in England, having scored three times in his last four Premier League games for the Magpies.
Almost all of Guimaraes’ metrics are in and around the 90th percentile on FBref, with his match average of 6.26 progressive passes, and 3.23 shot-creating actions per 90 a stand out compared to the likes of Dendoncker who registers an average of 1.99 progressive passes per 90, with a match average of 1.50 shot-creating actions.
Howe is right in letting him flourish as a central midfielder, as his attributes are so outstanding that it would be a waste to restrict him to defensive duties. On the other hand, Lage and Wolves were wrong in not actioning this deal if, as reported, they had the option to sign him.
The latest report from Spiers will come as a dagger in the hearts of a passionate fanbase who would have adored the Brazilian sensation.
Wolves have had a nightmare with this deal.
In other news: Lage must unleash “unplayable” £25.2m-rated Wolves reject, he’s better than Trincao
Article title: Wolves had a howler over Bruno Guimaraes transfer
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