After yet another stunning display last weekend, the brilliant Bruno Guimaraes was one of the big talking points on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football earlier this week.
Jamie Carragher not only praised the midfielder’s “fantastic” numbers – which see him outshine every other Premier League midfielder when it comes to tackles, carries, chances created and through balls per 90 – but explained why his impact stretches beyond his ability on the pitch.
The former Liverpool defender feels he’s had a huge effect on the crowd, believing the Brazilian has reinvigorated fans, as the likes of Alan Shearer and David Ginola did under Kevin Keegan.
Carragher also sees the 24-year-old as a bit of a throwback, being a midfielder who can do it all – whether that’s breaking up the play as a ‘No 6’ or making things happen in the final third as a ‘No 8.’
Here’s what he said about the South American superstar on Monday night, followed by the stunning statistics that see him outshine the likes of Declan Rice, Rodri, Thomas Partey and Fabinho:
“The numbers are fantastic. But, I feel like the effect that he is having on the crowd, you go back to Kevin Keegan when he first signed, David Ginola or when Alan Shearer came in.
“In that effect he is uniting a club and a fanbase really.
“What we find out with midfield players is we put them in positions in terms of numbers and call them a six, an eight, or a ten.
“He feels like the type of player who could play all of those roles. In terms of playing this season, he has played as more of the deeper midfield players.
“When comparing him to midfield players from the teams in the top six, is that he is a throwback to when Roy (Keane) was playing, in that he is a midfield player, he is not a sitting or attacking midfielder.”
