Newcastle United have had to change their plans for Sandro Tonali after what Bruno Guimaraes did

When I were a lad there was a huge debate going around as to whether Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard could play together at England. Now we have a similar debate at club level as to whether Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes can effectively share the pitch at Newcastle United.

The statistics on this from this season alone would give us a pretty definitive answer of "No".

In the four games the duo have started together this season Newcastle have won none - drawing two and losing two. In the past two games when Eddie Howe has alternated between Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes in the starting XI, Newcastle have two wins in two.

The fact that Sean 'Lucky Charm' Longstaff started both of those games could be something to do with it too, as Newcastle are undefeated this season when Longstaff has started.

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Sandro Tonali was brought in as a long-term replacement for Bruno Guimaraes

Shedding more light on this today was Chris Waugh in his weekly Q&A for The Athletic, where he was asked the question of whether they could play together.

While Waugh covered the stats, he also provided some insight into the club's thinking behind signing Sandro Tonali.

"When Newcastle signed Tonali, they wanted a midfielder who could play (almost) equally as well at No 6 and No 8 — a rare skill, certainly in the Premier League. The Italian was seen as a player who could complement Guimaraes as well as step in for him, given that Howe spent the 2022-23 campaign constantly worried the Brazilian would get injured.

"There was, however, also a begrudging acceptance that Guimaraes was likely to depart Tyneside within 12 to 24 months of Tonali arriving. That has not come to pass, much to Howe’s delight, but it also means that Tonali is no longer a longer-term replacement for Guimaraes, but someone who needs to fit into the side alongside him. When he has started as a No 8 and Guimaraes as a No 6, Newcastle have not quite looked right."

How does Eddie Howe keep both players happy?

So now that Bruno Guimaraes has committed his future to Newcastle by signing a new deal, Eddie Howe has to find a way to integrate Tonali into the side with him, or somehow rotate the two so they get enough game time to be happy to stick around.

Howe could persist with starting the two together in the hopes that it will eventually click, but is it worth potentially dropping so many points for something that may never happen?

It's a huge conundrum for the Newcastle boss and one that we feel may take some time to sort out.