Miguel Almiron appears to be staying at Newcastle United after a summer of speculation linking him with the exit door.
There has been plenty of talk of the Paraguay international joining a Saudi Pro League club while his agent even tipped him for a move to a Premier League rival last May. The player’s personal choice is to stay on Tyneside and see out his career in black and white but aged 30 and in the world of PSR, it’s hard to say whether he will make it until the end of his current deal which expires in 2026.
If Almiron got to stay another two years, the chances are he’d quite happily jet back to South America or the MLS to finish his career after a seven-year stint at St James’ Park. But as Eddie Howe pushes for a winger behind the scenes, it’s clear somebody may have to be sold to create “headroom” as the board so often refers to.
For all the talk of an exit this summer, Saturday afternoon saw Almiron’s name on the team sheet again at St James’ and he looked relaxed. Against French side Stade Brest, he did not have his best game but started brightly enough with a couple of forays into the final third.
This was Almiron’s audition for Howe as he pitches him in with Jacob Murphy for that third attacking slot against Southampton next weekend. Almiron vs Murphy in pre-season only conjures up one winner with the former Norwich City star weighing in with five goals.
Murphy looks desperate for the season to start and should line up alongside Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon against the Saints. But with just 20 days left of the window and no takers for Almiron, has Howe decided he is better working with the player and trying to get him back to his glorious pre-World Cup form of 2022?
Almiron left St James’ looking content with life as he left with his family after Saturday night’s win over the French side. And it feels like he might have done just enough to land a squad place to catch Howe’s eye once more at the start of the 2024/25 season.
Howe was asked if his team for the Southampton game was pretty much chosen in his head. But with Murphy’s battle with Almiron just one of the decisions he needs to make, Howe told Chronicle Live: “I need to see who is at their optimum levels, we need to be ready to go against Southampton and can’t carry anybody.
“I think I need to assess today’s game against Brest properly. When you look at the game on Saturday you seen a team that probably wasn’t functioning as well as it can. The most important thing was individuals came through the game unscathed. They got minutes into their legs they needed and we will be better for that.
“We have a chance to train them before the match again. It is a long-winded answer to no (to his team being picked already), I need to assess things properly.”
It feels like Howe has to make only two or three decisions on who plays centre-back with Dan Burn, Lloyd Kelly, Fabian Schar and Emil Krafth all pushing for two places and who starts on the right of a three-pronged attack between Almiron and Murphy.
Although, Howe has been known to throw in a surprise or two from time to time. His team sheet against the Saints will make interesting reading next weekend.
