Newcastle '£100m' target twice as good as Bruno Guimaraes as key stats revealed
Newcastle United are reportedly set to make an offer for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha as they look to replace Bruno Guimaraes.
The 25-year-old would reportedly cost somewhere in the region of £100million to sign this summer, but would represent a force in the midfield.
Club captain Guimaraes is set to join Arsenal in a deal worth £75m, with the Magpies having also lost Sandro Tonali this summer.
But after a difficult week that also saw Eddie Howe leave the club, Newcastle are ready to back new manager Matthias Jaissle.
Former Manchester City man Nmecha would be a significant coup, especially after his strong performances for Germany at the World Cup.
He is not the only target on Newcastle's list, however, with Porto talent Victor Froholdt also having been linked strongly.
How do Felix Nmecha and Bruno Guimaraes compare?
Nmecha would not be a like for like replacement for Guimaraes. He is a deeper midfielder and more likely to take a shot from outside the box than appear inside it.
However, that is not to say that he does not have huge technical ability - far from it.
Nmecha completed almost double the amount of successful dribbles that Guimaraes did last season, making 31 to a 57 per cent success rate to the Brazilian's 18 at a 38 per cent rate.
He also boats a higher accuracy for passing and long balls, and created an admirable 0.82 chances per 90 last season. But when it comes to attacking, Guimaraes is in a different league completely.
Per game, the 28-year-old produced more expected goals, shots, expected assists, chances created, successful crosses, fouls won, and penalties won.
Nmecha holds his own defensively
The closer comparison is made when the pair are put head to head on the defensive side of the game.
Guimaraes made 2.27 tackles per game to Nmecha's 1.52 last season and narrowly more recoveries, but the Dortmund man registered more interceptions, blocks and was dribbled past less.
In the duel, the Brazilian excels again. He won 6.16 per game to the German's 4.82, although just 0.48 of those were aerial duels, while 1.11 of Nmecha's were.
Guimaraes will not be easy to replace, and Newcastle will not find a like for like copy. They can, however, replace his impact on the pitch with several players, and Nmecha could well be one of them.