The rebuilding of the Manchester City team is well underway.
Last week, Kevin De Bruin confirmed he will leave the club this summer following the expiration of his contract.
He spent about £180 million in January, as outlined by athletic Philip Buckingham. This is recruiting Abduko Dirksanov, Omar Marmash, Niko Gonzalez, Vitrreis and Zhumaba, all of which have been combined.
Now, as Pep Guardiola is about to fill the huge void that De Bruin leaves behind, is he turning to one of the best midfielders of the Premier League?
PL Star’s latest in Man City interests
According to Uol Esporte, through a report from Spain, Guardiola has identified Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimares as his “ideal candidate” to replace de Bruin this summer.
The Belgian is out of Etihad, with the Sityzens aiming to a Premier League midfielder earlier this season to strengthen their options in the middle of the park.
However, it remains to be seen how much money it will cost for Magpies to consider saying goodbye to their amazing Brazilian in the upcoming transfer window.
The 27-year-old returned to Newcastle with a £40 million reported by Olympic Lyon in January 2022, and the club was excited about 70 years ago on the side that has made 146 appearances in Magpies so far, winning the major national trophy that won the EFL Cup last month.
His manager, Eddie Howe, described Guimares as “world class.” Athletic Chris War believes there is little good in the Premier League when Brazilians are deployed with more offensive freedom.
So, his signature would clearly be a big coup for Man City, but the potential deal would be far from straight.
Why Guimares is the perfect De Bruyne alternative
Instinctively, I don’t feel that Guimarães is the perfect style fit to replace the De Bruyne.
The Belgian is known as the pass master, and athletic Sam Lee outlines that whipball to the back post is his “trademark” assist.
As OPTA pointed out, since De Bruyne made his debut at Manchester City, no player has ever registered more assists (117) or created more chances (827) in the top five leagues in Europe.
Meanwhile, Guimarães is better known for his “tension” and leadership qualities, as recorded by athletics Jack Lang and Maurício Alencar, with just 24 assists in Newcastle’s 146 appearances so far.
But now let’s dive deeper into the numbers.
Kevin de Bruyne vs BrunoGuimarães (24/25 PL comparison) | ||
|---|---|---|
statistics | By Bruyne | Guimarães |
exterior | twenty one | 30 |
Min | 1,192 | 2,590 |
the goal | 2 | 3 |
assist | 6 | 6 |
Expected assist | 6.1 | 5.3 |
Progressive Pass | 116 | 212 |
Possibility of being created | 39 | 38 |
Shot creation action | 81 | 97 |
Through ball | 8 | twenty one |
Pass completed % | 76.7% | 82% |
Ball recovery | 44 | 144 |
Touches per 90 | 77 | 67 |
Statistics provided by TransferMarkt, FBREF.com and Squawka | ||
As the table outlines, despite playing under a few minutes less than half of Guimarães’s possession, De Bruyne’s assists, expected assists and numbers created are still comparable, highlighting his qualities in that respect.
Nevertheless, the Brazilian registers more progressive passes, shot-making actions, and through-balls, while accumulating exponentially the ball’s recovery, emphasizing it as a useful asset he does not own.
This suggests that he will be the perfect alternative to De Bruyne in the sense that he can arrive deeper into his game due to qualities he doesn’t own and deeper buildups.
So, although this is not a similar alternative, Guimarães certainly should be fully slotted for the Man City team and fully complete if possible.