Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes has stunned Eddie Howe in one key area

Howe expected brilliance and intelligence on the ball, and diligence off it, from the midfielder when he joined the club in January in a deal worth £35million plus add-ons.

The club’s head coach, however, wasn’t expecting such a big impact in front of goal.

Guimaraes has now scored three goals from five Premier League starts following a double in this afternoon’s 2-1 win over Leicester City at St James’s Park.

The 24-year-old cancelled out Ademola Lookman’s first-half opener with a 30th-minute striker, and he netted again in the 94th minute to claim all three points for his team.

“Goals weren’t one of the areas that we felt he would enhance us as a team, but he has,” said Howe. “He’s scored some key goals for us.

"I think, naturally, you expect your No.8s to contribute goals and assists, and be creative and have a good output, and, certainly the way he’s started, it looks like he can play in that position for us, and excel in there.

"I’m really, really pleased with him today. I thought he was magnificent in every aspect, especially out of possession, because we struggled to get control of the ball. Our defensive shape had to be very good, and, in part due to our three midfielders in there, it was very good.”

United fans quickly took to Guimaraes, who threw his shirt to a young fan as he left the field.

“He’s an incredibly passionate individual,” said head coach Howe. “I love that about him. He cares deeply whether we win, whether we lost. Again, I love that about him. You need players that wear their heart on their sleeve, and are prepared to give you everything on the pitch. He’s certainly one of those.”

Newcastle are now 12 points clear of the relegation zone with six games left to play.

"I thought we had the best chances,” said Howe. “Leicester were probably in control of the game, but we had some really good moments, and I thought our defensive resilience in the second half, as Leicester took control of the ball, was excellent.

"We hung in there, made it difficult for them to penetrate us, and got rewarded for that with the counter-attack goal at the end."