Newcastle United will be forced to play Tottenham without new attacking midfielder Miguel Almiron as the Parguayan waits for his work permit to be cleared before making his debut for the club, according to Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie.
The broadcaster’s north east correspondent claims on his personal Twitter account that the former Atlanta United star is not eligible to player for the Magpies on Saturday in a blow for their trip to Wembley as he is forced to sit on the sidelines due to paperwork issues.
Miguel Almiron ineligible to face Spurs on Saturday as he waits on his work permit #NUFC
— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) January 31, 2019
The significant update will be a blow to Rafael Benitez and his men, who will be hoping to pick up a second successive shock win after victory over Manchester City in midweek.
Opinion
Gutting news for Newcastle fans, who would have been so looking forward to seeing their new man in action this weekend. The sooner Almiron can get playing for the club the better, for they need him up to speed in the Premier League right away if he is to make the desired impact. This is why Rafa Benitez would have wanted his side’s transfer business to have been carried out sooner rather than later in the window, although their patience eventually paid off as they secured the signing of the Paraguay international. A visit to Spurs might not have been the best thing for their new arrival either and it could be that Benitez waits a couple of weeks until their home tie against Huddersfield later this month before throwing him in the deep end. It would give the attacking midfielder the time to bed himself into life on Tyneside and get him worked into the tactics for the rest of the season.