OPINION
There is no doubting the fact that Newcastle still have things to work on despite last season’s end of campaign success under Rafael Benitez.
Benitez eventually managed to guide the Magpies to a mid-table finish even though they failed to win any of their opening ten fixtures in the Premier League.
One of the major problems surrounding their poor start which filtered through into the rest of the season was the constant struggle to consistently score goals.
Add to that the fact that the departures of both Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon, two players that contributed to more than 50% of their goals last season – and Newcastle could have been in a poor situation.
Steve Bruce is the new man in charge at Newcastle, and he immediately realised the need to add reinforcements upfront – something he did straight away with the arrivals of both Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin.
The Magpies’ boss has urged his side to score more, with the Chronicle reporting that Bruce is hoping that more players can add goals to his side with the help of a new formation.
Bruce has backed Miguel Almiron to be a creative spark to help that demand next season, with the Paraguayan surely central to his hopes of creating more chances in front of goal.
The Newcastle manager spoke about Almiron’s apparent goal drought, saying: “Miggy will be fine. If he gets a goal he will be fine. He always got goals in America, once you are goalscorer you are a goalscorer.”
“Let’s hope he gets up and running soon.”
The 25-year-old made 10 appearances in the top-flight before injury put an end to his previous campaign and highlighted his attacking talents in that brief spell.
Starring in behind the striker, Almiron averaged 1.9 shots per game on top of 1.3 passes according to WhoScored, exaggerating the fact that he gets into positions to score himself as well as setting up chances for his teammates.
Almiron was also fouled 1.7 times on average in each game he featured in last season, proving opposition defences realise his danger and attempt to stop his effect on the Magpies’ squad.
The Paraguayan is surely a key figure in the Newcastle squad and will be pivotal to fulfilling Bruces’ demands next season.
