“I feel like the mayor of Newcastle,” Bruno Guimaraes told FFT early this season, mere months after joining the Magpies – then relegation threatened – from Lyon. Other Premier League clubs had made enquiries, but Newcastle secured his services for £40m on deadline day in what represented quite a coup. Having inspired Eddie Howe’s side to a mid-table finish by the end of 2021-22, the midfielder couldn’t nip out for a steak bake without being mobbed by adoring fans.
His stature has only grown this season, during which Newcastle have been a fixture in the