Bruno Guimarães has spoken glowingly about Newcastle United teammate Lewis Miley after the teenager impressed while adapting to multiple roles across the pitch.

Miley has featured in midfield, at right-back and even centre-back for Newcastle United — all within the same match against Leeds United. The 19-year-old has regularly filled in at right-back in recent weeks, but was asked to step into central defence during Wednesday’s dramatic 4-3 victory after Fabian Schär was forced off injured.

His adaptability has become a crucial short-term fix amid Newcastle’s ongoing defensive injury crisis. Miley also came off the bench in the FA Cup penalty shootout win over AFC Bournemouth at St James’ Park on Saturday, where he confidently converted his spot kick.

That match brought further problems for Eddie Howe, as Tino Livramento was forced off with a hamstring injury. As a result, Newcastle head into Tuesday’s crucial Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City with just four senior defenders available — plus Miley.

Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman have only recently returned from injury, with Botman completing 120 minutes alongside Malick Thiaw against Bournemouth. Meanwhile, Lewis Hall’s minutes are still being carefully managed after he missed most of 2025 through injury.

Livramento, Schär, Dan Burn, Emil Krafth and Jamaal Lascelles are all expected to miss the Manchester City clash, leaving Howe with limited defensive options and increasing the likelihood of Miley being used in a backline role once again.

Guimarães, who is set to represent Brazil at this summer’s World Cup in North America, believes Miley’s performances warrant a senior England call-up.

Although Miley has already earned five caps at Under-21 level, Guimarães feels his consistency, composure and positional flexibility would make him a valuable asset for Thomas Tuchel’s squad.

“Lewis Miley — what a player,” Guimarães wrote in his matchday programme column. “I didn’t even know he could play centre-back!

“If he keeps performing at this level, I think he deserves to go to the World Cup with England. He can play in so many positions and still deliver top-class performances.

“When I was 19, I wasn’t even a regular in the first team. Lewis is doing this week after week in the Premier League. I’m very proud of him.”

Howe previously stated that he would explore internal solutions before turning to the January transfer market — and in Miley, he appears to have found exactly that.

Eddie Howe on Lewis Miley’s Versatility

While Howe is happy to continue using Miley in defensive roles when required, he remains clear that the youngster’s long-term future lies in midfield.

“I see his future position in midfield,” Howe said. “But we’ll use him wherever the team needs him, as long as he’s comfortable. Right now, he’s eager to play anywhere to help the side, and that says a lot about his mindset.

“He’s never fazed. Whatever task you give him, he approaches it with total commitment. I thought he was outstanding at centre-half the other night, especially in a game where we didn’t fully control transitions.

“He had several one-v-one situations against centre-forwards and handled them extremely well. I was very impressed again.

 

“Interestingly, he’s played centre-back more than full-back in training over the last two years. He’s always looked calm and composed there, so I felt relatively relaxed putting him in that role. The full-back position came as more of a surprise — but a very positive one.”