OPINION
Newcastle United are surely hoping that lightning strikes twice as they are reportedly in the hunt to sign yet another South American attacker from Major League Soccer.
Mike Ashley sanctioned a club record spend on Miguel Almiron in January when the Magpies signed the Paraguay international from Atlanta United in a deal worth over £20million.
Sky Sports has now reported on their live transfer blog [Monday, 07:56pm] that Newcastle are interested in Real Salt Lake ace Jefferson Savarino, who has been in decent form in MLS this year, scoring three goals and supplying two assists in his 13 appearances.
It is reported that Newcastle will have a scout watch over Savarino, who is an international team-mate of Salomon Rondon’s for Venezula.
They take on host nation Brazil in the Copa America on Wednesday night and Sky Sports claims that the Magpies, as well as Premier League rivals West Ham, will have someone at the match to keep close tabs on the wide-forward.
Newcastle are clearly attempting to recreate their tried and tested method of not only signing an attacking player from MLS, but also a Venezuelan.
Rondon and Almiron were key to Newcastle’s survival in the Premier League last season.
While on loan from West Brom, Rondon scored scored 10 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions while Almiron, who joined in January, also had a major impact when he first arrived on the scene at St James’ Park.
The Paraguayan attacker didn’t register any goals or assists in his 10 league outings for the Magpies, but every supporter knows that his influence in the squad helped them in their bid for survival as the club only lost three games and won five times when Almiron was on the pitch.
Can Savarino have a similar impact on Tyneside should he head to Newcastle in the summer transfer window?
Newcastle fans will certainly hope so and their success with Rondon and Almiron means that the club should be trusted in this particular venture.
