Newcastle United continued their pre-season tour of Austria with a 1-0 defeat to Mainz on Monday afternoon.
Despite dominating the contest throughout, the Magpies found themselves on the wrong end of the result, and while not an awful lot will be taken from the game, Eddie Howe will still be looking to see some players step up and grab a starting jersey.
Last season, Miguel Almiron was one of the English coach’s most trusted names, despite only scoring one goal in 21 matches for Howe.
In fact, his winner against Crystal Palace in April was the only goal or assist that the Paraguayan managed in 30 Premier League appearances during the most recent campaign.
With his lack of attacking output, you certainly don’t want to be reading about him lacking that killer instinct during pre-season, but that appears to be the case – and after an hour of action, the 28-year-old was replaced.
Chronicle Live reporter Lee Ryder gave him a 5/10 match rating – a joint-low score – and made the following comment: “Struggled to make an impact in the first half but had a couple of openings before being taken off.”
TIF Thoughts on Almiron and Newcastle…
Is Almiron good enough for NUFC?Yes
No
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With the Toon still interested in bringing in a winger this summer (as per GiveMeSport), it will most likely be Almiron that is affected.
He played 18 times on the right wing for the Tyneside outfit last term, but his attacking outlay pales in comparison to that of rumoured target Moussa Diaby, for example.
The Frenchman, who can operate on both flanks, scored 13 goals and made 12 assists in 32 Bundesliga matches for Bayer Leverkusen in the most recent campaign, while Almiron has only managed 14 goals and a further five assists in his entire time at St James’ Park, which amounts to 123 outings.
He could see himself phased out of the team in time, and it appears that his pre-season performances could only further persuade PIF to invest in his replacement.