How Miguel Almiron Became A Key Player In Newcastle United’s New Build

Newcastle United attacker Miguel Almirón has been one of the standout players for his club and in the Premier League as a whole in the early stages of the 2022/23 season.

From being in a position where his quality, if not his work rate, was being questioned, he has now emerged as one of the key elements of Newcastle’s savvy rebuild under manager Eddie Howe, which sees them sitting in the top four with 13 games played.

Only four players have more goals than the Paraguayan in the English top flight so far this season, and he is the highest-scoring winger along with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Leandro Trossard.

There are similarities between Almirón and the Belgian, and both have been among the most impressive players in the league lately, but for a while it looked like Almirón would never fulfil the promise he showed in Major League Soccer with Atlanta United.

Almirón’s move from Atlanta to Newcastle was meant to be proof that South American players could use MLS as a stepping stone to the top leagues in Europe. But perception in some quarters that he wasn’t a successful signing for Newcastle raised doubts as to whether players could make such a step up.

Having been coached by Gerardo Martino in Atlanta, Almirón initially showed promising signs on moving to North East England under Newcastle’s then manager, Rafa Benítez, in January 2019. Benítez left the club at the end of that season, though, and Almirón only played ten games under the Spaniard who was replaced by Steve Bruce.

It was during this next period that Almirón’s performances dipped and his development stalled. His work rate remained at its usual high levels and he always gave 100% for the club, but his effectiveness and production dropped, even though he did score his first goal for the club under Bruce.

This was partly to do with the position and role in which he was playing, often on the right, one he wasn’t entirely used to, but it was more to do with a shift in style under Bruce to more defensive football. Reactive rather than proactive.

Eddie Howe replaced Bruce in November 2021 shortly after the club were taken over by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

The new influx of potentially unlimited funds, only curbed by various financial fair play rules in the English football leagues and no doubt soon to be applicable in UEFA competitions, could have meant players like Almirón would no longer be required.

Instead, though, Almirón has been part of the steady improvement at the club under Howe. Maybe the coaches looked back at the 28-year-old’s performances in MLS and realised he wasn’t being used to his full potential at Newcastle.

Whatever the reasons, Almirón looks once again like the Atlanta United player who potentially had the ability to light up the European leagues.

That potential is now being fulfilled. His high work rate is now coupled with entertaining play in a pro-active often possession-based team, who make the play rather than react to it.

He has seven goals in 13 Premier League appearances so far in the 2022/23 season—six in his last seven—and is arguably in the best form of his career.

“He’s playing very well,” Howe said after Almirón scored in a 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur last week.

“I think last year he played well, he just didn’t maybe get the goals that his performances deserved.

“I think if you’re not scoring as an attacking player then people don’t really tend to speak about you too much, but from a team perspective he did very well, especially later in the season.

“This season, I think he’s picked up where he left off from last season at the end of last season.

“He’s added goals. He’s added some spectacular goals, like the one in midweek, and the one against Fulham and he’s added some scrappy goals like the tap-in against Fulham.

“It’s just great he’s getting in goalscoring areas. He’s playing with confidence and he’s a very, very important member of the team.”

Earlier in the month, Howe reinforced the idea that Almirón has always been one of the club’s better players, but now he’s starting to show this in terms of goals and getting recognition as a result.

“For me, he’s given me everything from day one—very committed to the team,” Howe said.

“He’s a real team player and he’s getting the recognition that he deserves. You can’t underestimate the quality of the goals that he’s delivered for us.

“I don’t think I’ve noticed a difference in his character. He’s been very consistent—that’s a strength—he’s been very happy every day and very pleased to be part of the team. He has very close friends within the squad.

“What I have noticed is a real confidence in his training, in his technical delivery of what we’re asking him to do—I think that’s definitely gone up a level.”

Despite predictions that Newcastle would target marquee names for their big money transfers, they have been more sensible, and existing players such as Joelinton, Callum Wilson, Fabian Schär, and Almirón have been among the standout players.

These have been complemented by savvy signings including Sven Botman, Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, and Bruno Guimarães.

It has been an evolution rather than a revolution, and Almirón’s improvement has matched that of the club.

It’s a club at which he now appears to fit perfectly, and almost four years after joining, he could become one of the early stars of Newcastle’s inevitable surge to the upper echelons of the Premier League and European football.