Newcastle's big January signing Bruno Guimaraes has been unveiled to the Toon Army and made an interesting revelation regarding one particular Chelsea player and the influence he played on his decision making.
Guimaraes, 24, completed his move to England and despite constant Arsenal and Chelsea rumours in this transfer window and previous ones, with the Magpies the most aggressive club in their approach.
The Gunners focused their attentions on Dusan Vlahovic and Arthur Melo in January- efforts that come to no avail in the end as no-one was signed in this department by Edu.
Meanwhile, the European champions shelved plans to invest in their midfield up until the summer due to the ongoing worries at full-back amid Ben Chilwell's season-ending rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament.
A Newcastle club statement back when the signing was confirmed, the day before deadline day read: "Newcastle United are delighted to confirm the signing of Brazil international Bruno Guimaraes on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
"The 24-year-old midfielder joins the Magpies for an undisclosed fee from Lyon, where he has been one of the outstanding performers in Ligue 1 over the past two seasons, and will wear shirt number 39 - the number of the taxi once driven by his father.
"Born in Rio de Janeiro, Guimaraes started out with Audax, where he made his debut as a 17-year-old, before moving on to Brazilian top-flight side Athletico Paranaense, where he won the Copa do Brasil and the Copa Sudamericana as well as being named in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A team of the year in 2019.
"He then signed for Lyon and, having won an Olympic gold medal with his country at the 2020 summer games, has earned three full caps for the Selecao. He is currently on international duty with Tite's side and completed his medical in his homeland ahead of travelling to Newcastle next week."
Lyon's former midfield maestro wasn't able to make his debut at the weekend due to Eddie Howe's side's failure to defeat League One's Cambridge United in the third round of this season's FA Cup.
All focus regarding a debut is now on the midweek clash at the bottom against Frank Lampard's rejuvenated Everton side - a fixture that the Brazilian is expected to start in.
On Monday afternoon, the £38million signing was unveiled to all the media at St. James' Park before he took part in open training on the Stadium pitch ahead of this crucial encounter at the bottom of the Premier League table.
During his first outing with the media, a host of questions were asked but one in particular will prick up the ears of Chelsea fans who may have not tuned in to what was going on in Tyneside.
When asked about his decision to move to the English top flight, Guimaraes opened up on the three players he spoke to when making his mind up and Brazilian counterpart Thiago Silva was unsurprisingly one of them.
"I spoke to Gabriel Jesus, Thiago Silva, Alex Telles & they told me about the Premier League, about how difficult it is to play at Newcastle, how passionate the fans are & I didn't have to think twice about coming here," he revealed.
