Newcastle United’s midfield has not been perfect this season to say the least.
Indeed, the lack of a defensive midfielder was noted upon by pundit Tim Sherwood during the Boxing Day defeat to Nottingham Forest and there has long been an acceptance that Bruno Guimaraes is operating out of position.
In fact, even before big summer signing Sandro Tonali was banned from football, there were questions as to whether or not the Italian could successfully operate alongside Guimaraes.
Still, there were reasons to be excited. After the thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain in October, Guimaraes even hailed Tonali as his “hero” as Newcastle started to put some form together.
Newcastle news: Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali
While Tonali clearly cannot play for Newcastle before the start of next season, the Italian is still involved at training.
The club even posted a video on their X (formerly Twitter) channel of Guimaraes hugging Tonali as the two were put through their paces on Friday.
Newcastle news: Guimaraes and Tonali may never play with each other again
Sadly for Newcastle, there is seemingly a strong chance the two players will not don the famous black and white kit at the same time again.
Though Guimaraes has made positive noises about his long-term future at St James’ Park, he continues to be linked with a move away.
Given Eddie Howe’s side are unlikely to reach the Champions League this time around, keeping him at the club amid a reported £100m release clause may be difficult.
That of course would be a shame for supporters but perhaps Tonali can kick on from there. If Guimaraes is to go, a lot will be expected of the former AC Milan midfielder going forward.
While their partnership may not have been perfect, it would have been nice to see the two operate together more often.
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