Hislop: Newcastle need more players like Guimaraes and Joelinton

should avoid buying "big stars" and focus on Guimaraes and Joelinton. Former Newcastle goalkeeper

Shaka Hislop

has been impressed by the Brazilian midfielders.

Newcastle signed Guimaraes for a fee that could surpass the £40m spent on

Joelinton

.

scored five goals in 17 appearances for Newcastle before the end of the season, more than in 71 for Lyon over two years. Joelinton struggled as a striker in his first two seasons in England, scoring 10 goals in 80 games.

Eddie Howe

has converted the ex-Hoffenheim man into a dominant, devastating midfielder (529). Newcastle won six of the nine games Guimaraes and Joelinton started together, but Howe's XI could look quite different next season after another transfer window. Newcastle has been connected to Neymar, Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, and

since last year's acquisition.

Hislop feels his old club should sign more players like Guimaraes. If huge players are available at the right price and fit Newcastle, he says, "I don't see why not. But while there's a temptation, if not an expectation, to go for huge names, one of those January acquisitions was Bruno Guimaraes, who wasn't a big star but turned out to be a great player. That's consistent with the transfer policy."

"While mentioning Bruno Guimaraes, I must also mention Joelinton, who many had written off. Eddie Howe found him a spot as a defensive midfielder, and he won [Newcastle's] player of the year. Those are the players you want from Newcastle based on their performances. So while the temptation will be to go for the big names, I don't think that is how they'll do their business – that's not going to be their M.O. so to speak."

"It will be finding those gems and those gems that fit with what Newcastle United stands for." Hislop was at Newcastle's 2-0 win over Arsenal, watching Guimaraes score the second goal, and he said: "Seeing him live, as I did against Arsenal, just painted his talents in a very different light for me.

"He is so calm under pressure, and I think that feeds to everybody else. He's calm under pressure when he's in possession, he's first to press the ball, he, of course, popped up with the second goal against Arsenal. He really is an incredible talent and, again, he epitomises so much about Newcastle or the way that they play under Eddie Howe."

"Given that stat, where is the urgent need to strengthen?" Hislop said. "Listen, I also understand that when you're playing well that is a perfect time to bring fresh faces in to add competition to the squad.

"I believe that those players who performed so well in the second half of the season deserve the chance to build on that. So, if I am adding to the squad, it's around competition for places; having real strength in depth is a need for every Premier League team now. Newcastle are not yet competing in Europe, but the hope will be that they put together some decent cup runs and, if you do that, again, your squad will be tested. So, right now, my thinking is just in terms of our squad depth."

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