Eddie Howe says Bruno Guimaraes ‘at the fulcrum of everything’ for Newcastle

Eddie Howe says Newcastle need Bruno Guimaraes to be at his best for his team to tick.

The 26-year-old Brazil international has hit top form in recent weeks after battling his way through a persistent ankle injury which hampered him for several months, and at times prevented him from reaching the heights of his first few months in England.

However, he was one of the Magpies’ star performers in their Premier League victories over Chelsea and Manchester United either side of a 1-1 Champions League draw at Paris St Germain in which he also excelled, and his return to that level could hardly have been better timed for head coach Howe as he contends with an ongoing selection crisis.

He said: “You need your top players to play really well when you’re in a situation like this that we’re in at the moment, and I think Bruno has certainly done that.

“I thought Manchester United and Chelsea, were up there with his best performances, and the first half against PSG.

“I think he was very, very good with the ball, very creative, managed to get himself connected with the players in front of him. But also off the ball, I thought he was really good, physically excellent, pressed really well.

“He’s such an important person to that part of the game for us that it is hard work for him physically, but he’s able to repeat those physical exertions that we need him to, so I think his game’s in a very good place.

“It has to be for us to perform well because he’s at the fulcrum of everything really.”