Paul Ince was blown away by the impact Newcastle United signing Miguel Almiron made in his full debut against Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Despite the fact that the ace did not get on the scoresheet in this 2-0 victory – those goals came from Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez – the Match of the Day pundit was thoroughly impressed from what he saw of the playmaker, remarking that he looked like he had “been [at Newcastle] all of his life”.
He added that Almiron deserved to get a goal on Saturday after the effort he had put in, and he drooled over the way he provided the pass that allowed Perez to score.
“He did really well considering it was his debut and playing at a big massive stadium like Newcastle but he looked like he’d been there all of his life,” he said on BBC One’s Match of the Day [23/2, 10.20pm].
“They paid £20million for him from Atlanta and he contributed everything you’d want from a debut. Everything he did in the game came off and the only thing missing was a goal.
“He’s got a trick, he’s wonderfully gifted technically but he’s got a trick. He deserved a goal but there was a very good no look pass in to Perez who scored.
“The Newcastle faithful gave him a standing ovation and he was outstanding. He’s one for the future and he got a pat on the back from Rafa who will be delighted he’s spent some of Ashley’s money on a very good player.”
OPINION
If this is the type of praise that Almiron is going to receive on his full debut for the club, then it is exciting to see how he progresses over the remainder of the season. If he is this good now, then how good will he be by May? Like Ince pointed out, he is definitely a star of the future for the Magpies, and he could be pivotal in their success if this display if anything to go by. He really was excellent on Saturday, and Newcastle looked like a completely different team with him in it. Mike Ashley will be glad that he spent his money on a player like Almiron, even if it was £20 million – even though he is notoriously stingy, he will not have minded paying that sum of money on a player who is going to make such a difference to the side in the long run, and potentially ensure the club’s Premier League status.