Former Magpies' midfielder Kieron Dyer believes Bruno Guimaraes would walk into Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle United side that played Champions League football 20 years ago. The Brazilian would have been just five-years-old when the Toon last played Champions League football, in a memorable European campaign on Tyneside.
The Toon made history by qualifying for the second group stage of the tournament, despite losing all three of their opening games. Eddie Howe's Newcastle are on track to return to the main stage in Europe, after a two decade hiatus, with Guimaraes pulling the strings in midfield.
Newcastle's last appearance in the Champions League in full came back in the 2002/03 in a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona at St. James' Park, which ended any hopes of reaching the latter stages of the competition. A midfield consisting of Laurent Robert, Dyer, Gary Speed and Nobby Solano couldn't produce any magic for Alan Shearer or Craig Bellamy to feed off up front.
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Speaking about Guimaraes in the build-up to the Tottenham win, Dyer told Sky Sports: "The crowd love him, he gets the crowd going. I think the biggest compliment I always say is that I can’t believe he’s not playing for Brazil.
"The midfielders who are playing in front of him, I can’t believe it. It’s been 20 years since we were in the Champions League with Sir Bobby [Robson], I think he gets into that team quite convincingly - easily. He’s an all-action midfielder."
When asked by fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp if it was his place Bruno would take, Dyer said: "Yep, ahead of me. He’s better defensively than me!
"He’s got it all, I love everything about him. I didn’t realise how good he was until I’ve seen him live.
"He has more impact than anyone, more touches than anyone, he controls the tempo, and you see when he’s out of the Newcastle team their win percentage goes plummeting down. Terrific midfielder, he’s been one of the best players in the league by a mile."
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