OPINION
Newcastle United attacker Ayoze Perez has been a regular fixture in the starting XI now, and there is no doubt that he was starting to get rather comfortable with the role he was playing.
However, that could now all be thrown in the air after Miguel Almiron’s arrival at the club, as it means that his first team future has become very bleak – a prospect that will have him sweating profusely.
He has shown in the last few weeks that he is capable of getting better, and it is safe to say that he has considerably improved since the start of the season where he was getting slammed by fans left, right and centre.
Nevertheless, Almiron joining the club has undoubtedly put a whole new perspective on things for boss Rafa Benitez.
Almiron is a player who he has wanted for a long time, and now that he is finally at the club, he would be seriously mistaken not to start him – after all, he is the club’s record signing.
The Paraguayan playmaker has the ability to propel Newcastle to a new level, and the possible part he is going to play in the club’s season has obviously got Perez very worried indeed.
Almiron was unstoppable when playing for MLS side Atlanta United, so what chance does he have of getting in to the first team now?
The 25-year-old will now need to play out of his skin to convince Benitez that he is the player he should depend upon, otherwise a place on the bench is becoming increasingly likely for the Spaniard.
This will no doubt be an incredibly difficult task for the £45,000-a-week [Spotrac] player, so he must pull out all of the stops to ensure that he stays in Benitez’ plans.
If he does not manage to achieve that, then Perez’ future at Newcastle will just go down the drain. It’s fair to say he is fighting for his future at St James’ Park.