£40m player has ‘privately’ spoke about changing position at Newcastle United

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Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has a lot of things to consider when it comes to his midfield.

The Toon boss has a lack of options right now, with Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Joe Willock all unavailable. For Tonali and Joelinton, that will be the case for the rest of the season. As for Willock, he will hopefully be back soon.

That will be a huge boost for Eddie Howe, who is currently having to deploy a midfield that does not function perfectly as a trio.

He tried to tweak it at the weekend, with Bruno Guimaraes playing in a more advanced role. It paid off, with Bruno getting in more dangerous areas and scoring two goals.

And, according to the Athletic’s Chris Waugh, Bruno would like this to be his permanent position.

What Bruno Guimaraes has spoke to Eddie Howe about

Chris Waugh has spoke about Bruno’s desire to play as a ‘number eight’ rather than a ‘six’ on the latest episode of Pod On The Tyne.

“Eddie Howe sees Bruno Guimaraes as his perfect number six,” he said.

“For so long Bruno, certainly privately, but also publicly has talked about how he wants to be…he sees himself as a number eight. He wants to be higher up the pitch. He wants to score more goals.”

Newcastle midfield change is not straightforward

Bruno wants to be more influential, and he seized his opportunity to be just that at the weekend. He thrived further up the pitch, and it will only intensify the clamour from fans for that change to become permanent.

But it is not straightforward. For Bruno to play as an eight, someone else needs to play a six. Sadly, no one is better suited to that role than Bruno.

Lewis Miley was trialed there on Saturday, while Howe has said in the past that he thinks the 17-year-old can become a number six in the future. But that is a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders right now.

Joe Willock’s return won’t provide a solution, as he is better as an eight. His biggest asset is his athleticism, and that would be shackled sitting in front of the defence.

It puts Howe and Bruno in a difficult situation. Bruno wants the change, while Howe will want to get as much as possible out of the £40million man. However, the lack of alternatives might make it challenging for Howe to give Bruno what he wants – for now.