Former New England Revolution manager Steve Nicol has claimed that Newcastle United’s signing of midfielder Miguel Almiron is pretty much done.
The Daily Mail reported last month that the Magpies were in talks with Atlanta United for the Paraguay international, and Nicol believes Almiron is essentially a Newcastle player-in-waiting.
“I’d be shocked if this isn’t already pretty much done,” he told ESPN FC [1:20] about Almiron’s proposed move to Tyneside. “In some ways Newcastle is right, in some ways it’s wrong.
“He’s going to play and that’s the biggest thing for a young player going to a top team. But will he get any service? Will his game fit in with the way Newcastle go about it? I’m not so sure. I think this will happen but it’s touch-and-go whether he’s going to be a success just because of the way Newcastle play,” he said.
OPINION
Nicol does make a decent point, here. Newcastle aren’t the flashiest of teams and they don’t play a particularly crisp, short passing game. They can be quite direct and that was obviously part of their thinking when they signed Salomon Rondon on loan in the summer. Their game relies on a target man because they do knock it long with regularity. That isn’t to say that Almiron wouldn’t be able to adapt to that style and still be a success, it’s just that he might be a little bit more uncomfortable with that than the style of football being played by some other Premier League teams. Having said that, the Magpies do generally play with wingers and a number ten, both positions that Almiron can flourish in. The main takeaway, though, is that the deal is pretty much done in Nicol’s eyes. He is someone with vast experience of the MLS so that speaks volumes.