Newcastle United writer Liam Kennedy recently joined Steve Wraith on the NUFC Matters YouTube show to discuss a variety of topics regarding the Magpies.
One of which was Miguel Almiron. The Paraguayan joined the club from Atlanta United in January 2019 in a deal reportedly worth £21.6m (as per Transfermarkt). Since swapping the States for the North-East of England, Almiron has made 62 appearances for the club, contributing nine goals and five assists to date.
Since the start of this current Premier League season, the player has made seven appearances, four as a starter and three as a substitute (as per WhoScored). His average performance rating currently stands at a somewhat underwhelming 6.48/10 and according to Kennedy, his agent has suggested that could be down to him being played out of position.
Kennedy discussed some of the recent comments made by Almiron’s representative and here is what he had to say:
“I think the agent’s been really, really troublesome for the player in this sense. Every opportunity, with the transfer window just around the corner, he does do a little bit of mischief-making. That’s the job of some agents, but he’s very vocal in the sense that he’s done it twice now.
“It isn’t really helpful for the player. Do I think the player has played well enough this season? No, I don’t think he has, I don’t think he’s played well enough at all. Do I think he’s a good player? Yeah, I do. Has he been playing out of position? [He] certainly hasn’t been playing left-back like was being suggested, but he has been playing in a bit more of a grafting, defensive role in that central midfield three in recent weeks.
“He is better further forward, but I still think he should be able to do a job for the side in there. The frustrating thing about the [Steve] Bruce stuff is that we’ve got a player now not talking about wanting to leave Newcastle United because he wants to go and win trophies. We’re actually talking about a player’s agent coming out and saying, ‘my player wants to leave because he wants a bit of the ball’, that’s effectively what he’s said.
“But Newcastle are rubbish, we’ve all watched them for a year and a half, they’ve been terrible. There’s been flashes of brilliance, but they’ve been really, really poor – poor with the ball and poor without it – so it’s no surprise that you’ve got factions within the dressing room that are unhappy at the moment.”
Do you expect Almiron to leave the club at the end of the season?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts on Liam Kennedy’s comments regarding Miguel Almiron…
During a recent interview with the Paraguayan radio station Futgol 970 (via The Daily Mail), Daniel Campos claimed that had it not been for the recent global pandemic, Almiron would no longer be a Newcastle United player.
He also suggested that a move away this coming summer is a real possibility for the £14.4m-rated player and therefore it seems that the relationship between the player and his manager may have broken down and is now beyond the point of repair.