Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is proud of his decision to join the Magpies in January.

Guimaraes admits joining Newcastle is the 'best decision' of his life - but it wasn't all plain sailing as he made the switch from Lyon.

“It was one of the hardest decisions of my life, I think I went about four days without sleep. I'm not going to lie, I was afraid, yes," Guimaraes told Globo Esporte.

“Even more so because the club was in the relegation zone. But after I got there and did my first workout, confidence went up again. After I started playing, everything started to work out, we ended up in 11th, a team that was second to last.

"The best decision of my life was to go to Newcastle, to the Premier League, I believe it may have been a differential in my call-ups too."

Guimaraes is with his Brazil team-mates as they prepare to take on South Korea, Japan and Argentina in the coming days. The 24-year-old is fighting fit but admits it has been an intense few months.

“As much as I played in Ligue 1, when I went to the Premier League I felt the intensity in the first three games a lot," he added. "It's very different, the hardest league in the world, it's very difficult to play, but it's the league I always wanted to be in, I think every player could play at least a year in the Premier League to see that it's different."