Eddie Howe declared that Bruno Guimaraes is a £36 million bargain and said that everyone at Newcastle loves the Brazilian after he inspired their biggest win of his time in charge.
The January signing struck twice in a 5-1 victory over Brentford as Newcastle marked a year under new owners by moving into the top six.
Guimaraes joined from Lyon as part of a spending spree as Newcastle have paid out over £200m in two transfer windows.
But manager Howe said: “In today’s climate, he is absolutely a bargain. He has had a huge impact on the team and the club and in today’s market that is a relatively modest sum.
“I think it is an amazing thing for us, it is not just the player but the person. I can’t say how good a person he is. He is a pleasure to coach and a real positive person. He is an energiser. Everyone connected with the club absolutely loves him.”
Howe was also impressed with the way Guimaraes, who had opened the scoring with a header, opted to shoot and not to pass when he scored his second goal, a couple of minutes after Ivan Toney had brought Brentford back into the game with a cool penalty.
He added: “It takes very good players to affect games and Bruno did throughout. For the third goal, he decided to take responsibility when there were players outside him. He was outstanding. We missed him when he was out. He is a quality player in every phase.”
Brentford suffered their heaviest Premier League defeat and manager Thomas Frank rued the goals they conceded, citing: “Two big build-up mistakes, an own goal and a well-drilled set-piece from Newcastle.”
He added: “We are of course fuming. I can feel my anger bursting around inside me. It is very, very, very, very difficult to win a game if you make one, two, three, four mistakes.”
