Newcastle United winger Miguel Almirón may be making manager Eddie Howe and the club’s hierarchy think twice about his long-term future at the club.
That is according to Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, who was speaking to This is Futbol about the latest news from St James’ Park.
It was only this summer when it looked for all the world that Almirón was set to leave Newcastle, with Everton being one of the sides interested in a deal for the 28-year-old.
However, a run of six goals in six Premier League fixtures has cemented the 47-time Paraguay international’s place in Howe’s regular starting lineup.
And whilst Downie isn’t sure if there’s a new contract in the offing for Almirón, he does believe that Howe and the Newcastle hierarchy may be being swayed to keep the wide-man in the long run.
He said: “I’m not sure on that [being offered a new contract], if I’m honest with you. He signed a five-year deal; he’ll be three years into that in January. He’s doing great just now.
“Is he part of a long-term future? I don’t think he was.
“He may now be kind of making people and making the hierarchy and the manager think twice about that.
“Whether that’s been decided yet, I’m not too sure.”
TIF Thoughts on Downie’s comments…
We think that Newcastle fans will be intrigued to see what happens with the future of Almirón, with the January transfer market looming large and the World Cup break set to begin after the Magpies’ next two Premier League fixtures.
According to reports at the end of September, Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby, Leeds United’s Jack Harrison, and Leicester City midfielder James Maddison were being touted as potential targets for Howe’s side in the January market, but the former Atlanta United man’s turnaround in form may have changed the club’s mind in regard to January business.
Whilst we don’t expect Almirón to sign a new deal on Tyneside just yet, we can foresee a situation where the winger stays at St James’ Park for the remainder of the season – at which point, the club may have to seriously consider whether they would be wise to accept any offers from interested parties.