Miguel Almiron signed for Newcastle in January for a club-record fee of £21 million. That shouldn’t mean an automatic spot in the first XI, though.
The Paraguayan midfielder brings with him a sense of excitement for Toon fans. However, we’ve been here before. The Magpies’ faithful welcomed the signing of rising star Hugo Viana in 2002, only for the Portuguese youngster to fail to settle.
The same happened when Florian Thauvin arrived on Tyneside in 2015. The French winger was setting Ligue 1 alight – and is doing so once again – but his poor showings in a Newcastle shirt even had his own fans booing him.
Big things expected of Almiron
While United will be expecting big things of their new signing, they must be patient. Arriving from a different league is a huge change in its own, without that league being the MLS. The top league stateside may be improving, but it’s still a long way off the standard set in the Premier League. Therefore, the club’s most expensive player should be eased into it.
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Recent games have also seen Ayoze Perez up his game, meaning he deserves to keep his place – for now. The Spaniard has three goals and an assist so far this season and will be determined to repay Rafa Benitez’s faith in him with another good performance against Wolves – if he’s picked.
Throwing Almiron straight into the first team may be something Toon fans are hoping for. In doing so, however, could well have a detrimental effect on his career in the northeast.
