Eddie Howe responds to Newcastle United £55m midfielder 'breakthrough' claim

After being left out of Newcastle United’s starting XI for the previous three matches versus Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, the Italian is now back in from the off and being deployed as a No.6.

The role has long been occupied by Bruno Guimaraes but Howe has used the last two matches to push the Brazilian slightly further forward. And it paid dividends on Wednesday when Guimaraes registered two assists in United’s 3-3 draw with Liverpool.

“I thought their positioning on the pitch was really good,” said Howe. “There was a lot of fluid movements and rotations but still the structure was what I wanted it to be so great signs for the future.

“Bruno ends up creating one goal from the No.6 six position, one goal slightly higher up and that’s great to see.”

Tonali’s previous two outings as No.6 came in the Carabao Cup at Nottingham Forest in what was his first appearance after his 10 month ban and Chelsea.

Asked why Tonali hadn’t been used in the role more regularly, Howe explained: “Because we've had Bruno in there who has been absolutely magnificent for us for a long period of time.

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“So before changing the dynamic of that role for Bruno which, if you look at the best 6s in the Premier League, Bruno would absolutely be right up there for me and he's the fulcrum of the team so if you change that dynamic there's benefits of course if a player has different qualities but there's a knock-on effect the other way.

“I felt it was time to change and it doesn't mean that position has changed because against Liverpool there was a lot of rotation, a lot of utilising players in different positions so a different kind of structure for us.”

Despite starring, Howe played down suggestions that it has been a “breakthrough” week for the 24-year-old.

“I probably wouldn’t put it that way” Howe told NewcastleWorld. “He’s done really well in the last two games, I’ve been absolutely delighted with his performances. Most importantly for me there has been a good dynamic in midfield, I think that’s been really pleasing to see.

“It’s not about the individual player, it’s about bringing players together and how that affects the team. The Chelsea game in the cup, he did really well then. His Nottingham Forest performance off the bench, I thought he was a gamechanger there. I think he’s performed really in recent weeks.”

Tonali suffered with cramp during the latter stages of the draw with Liverpool but is expected to start away at Brentford on Saturday.