\n<\/p>\n
Guimaraes tellingly emerged with credit following Newcastle<\/a>‘s bruising domestic campaign.<\/p>\n Newcastle<\/a> slipped to 12th place in the Premier League, but they would have been in a far worse position without their player of the year.<\/p>\n Having worked with the coaching staff on getting further up the field, and anticipating where the ball will fall inside the box, Guimaraes even finished as Newcastle<\/a>‘s top scorer in the Premier League with nine goals.<\/p>\n He scored openers against Nottingham Forest<\/a>, Burnley<\/a>, Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> and Crystal Palace<\/a> as Newcastle<\/a> picked up 10 points from a possible 12.<\/p>\n His mentality also shone through with a number of late goals at St James’ Park, including a 90th-minute winner against Fulham<\/a> and a stoppage-time penalty equaliser versus Leeds United<\/a> in a topsy-turvy match Newcastle<\/a> went on to win.<\/p>\n Guimaraes’ ability to make things happen has long been invaluable to head coach Howe.<\/p>\n Although he missed a chunk of the season through injury, Guimaraes still ranked in the top five players across the league for defensive line-breaking passes (46) and through balls (21).<\/p>\n He also led the way at Newcastle<\/a> for passes under high intensity pressure (998), which illustrates how he relishes responsibility.<\/p>\n Yet there are also intangibles that can’t simply be measured in data.<\/p>\n