Former Newcastle United favourite Mick Martin has hailed the impact of Miguel Almiron, but has also highlighted how vital it is that he is given good service.
The Paraguayan made a positive impression in his first couple of appearances for the Magpies, but struggled in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham.
Speaking to the Chronicle, ex-Toon man Martin claimed that the 24-year-old has a a bright future, but needs help.
He said: “In his first game against Huddersfield he stood out a mile. It was against a very ordinary team that were struggling and they were down to 10 men.
“You look at the games beyond that and he didn’t have the same effect. At the weekend against West Ham, he wasn’t so involved in the game because they tried to dominate in the midfield area.
“So he is reliant on people giving him good possession.
“But Almiron has got a great future because when you look at somebody with pace like that you know that you won’t get hammered by opposition too often because you are quick enough to get away.”
OPINION
After a really positive start to life on Tyneside, Almiron has plateaued a little, and that could be a bit of a worry for Newcastle. He is clearly a player of immense talent, but the intensity and physicality were always going to be steep learning curves for a player signing from the MLS. Perhaps if Almiron had started slower than he has done then expectations would be lower, and we would be sat here hailing a player who has made a steady start to life in England after a huge move. Instead, after seeing glimpses of the magic that the can produce, supporters will be leaving short changed with every passing underwhelming display. It’s way too soon to start getting on Almiron’s back of course, but if he goes another two or three weeks without pulling out a show stopping performance or scoring his first goal, then the minor rumblings of discontent could become a more serious issue.