The major changes at Newcastle United this summer are continuing.
The club has had a bit of a makeover following the conclusion of the 2023/24 season, with Newcastle United now looking very different both behind the scenes and on the pitch.
Inside St James’ Park, there has been a major reshuffle. Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi have left Newcastle, while Paul Mitchell has arrived as sporting director. He replaces Dan Ashworth, whose move to Manchester United was made official on July 1st.
On the pitch, there have been tweaks too. Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie were released, while Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh were sold. Their sales disappointed Eddie Howe, and Minteh has already shown that Newcastle could regret selling him.
And now there as been a leadership change within the squad.
Newcastle United make Bruno Guimaraes their new captain
During pre-season, Bruno Guimaraes had the honour of captaining Newcastle United in Japan. He was delighted to wear the armband, and it was later announced that he was part of the leadership group.
Then he captained Newcastle again on Saturday, leading the Magpies out as they kicked off the new Premier League season at home to Southampton.
It was a surprise to see Bruno Guimaraes named as captain, as Dan Burn was also on the pitch. However, it was the 26-year-old who got the armband.
And, according to the Daily Mail, that is because Bruno has been named Newcastle’s ‘team captain’, with Kieran Trippier seen as ‘vice-captain’.
As for Jamaal Lascelles, he is now the ‘club captain’, and will continue to lead the club despite being out of action with a serious knee injury.
Eddie Howe thinks captaincy will make Bruno even better
The Daily Mail add that Bruno is almost certainly going to stay at Newcastle United now, despite a summer filled with rumours about a move away from St James’ Park.
He is going nowhere, and has now been given more responsibility.
According to the Daily Mail, Eddie Howe thinks the added responsibility will allow Bruno to thrive in black and white.
It could allow him to take his game to an even greater level, which is incredibly exciting considering how good he has been since joining Newcastle United in January 2022.
Making Bruno captain is a clever move. It solidifies Bruno as arguably the most important player at the club. It makes him feel valued, at a time when he is being targeted by some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Howe could have given the armband to Burn on Saturday, but it now belongs to Bruno. That may seem harsh on Burn, but he is a leader with or without the armband. As Howe hopes, captaincy could take Bruno to an even greater level.
Bruno is already leading by example at Newcastle
His first Premier League game as captain ended in a win, as Newcastle beat Southampton 1-0 on Saturday.
Howe described Bruno as ‘immense’, with the Brazil international producing a diligent defensive performance to help drag his team over the line and pick up a vital three points despite only having 10 men.
The Magpies’ number 39 was excellent, while it was clear that he is going to get even better. Bruno admitted that he is not fully fit yet, which was evident from his performance.
But he was still able to lead by example, and he will aim to improve further when he captains Newcastle again on Sunday away to Bournemouth.
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