Jermaine Jenas was blown away by Newcastle United attacker Miguel Almiron during the 1-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
The former Spurs and Magpies midfielder claimed that the Paraguayan forward had been absolutely sensational while commentating on the match for BBC Radio 5 Live.
Jenas made the remarks deep into the second half of the Magpies’ clash with Spurs and added that he would be surprised if it turned out that someone else had covered more ground than him on Sunday.
“Almiron has been absolutely sensational in this game,” said Jenas on BBC Radio 5 Live (18:14, Sunday August 25th).
“I’d be surprised if anyone has ran more than him in this game especially at high intensity as he is driving his team.”
OPINION
Almiron may not have ended his goal drought at the Magpies, which now stretches to 13 games, but it didn’t matter on Sunday. The 25-year-old worked ridiculously hard for the team and was constantly bombing up and down the pitch in order to ensure Steve Bruce’s side secured a shock win over Spurs. Almiron touched the ball 43 times against Spurs, Matt Ritchie was the only Newcastle player to touch it more, and that is a reflection of how much he put himself about the pitch (Source: WhoScored). Also while the 25-year-old had no luck in front of goal, he attempted two shots but both missed the target, he pulled his weight defensively instead. Almiron made one tackle, registered two interceptions and even cleared the ball from danger on one occasion, as per WhoScored, and given that the attacker likely has it in the back of the mind that he needs to get off the mark sooner rather than later, it’s a huge testament to his character that he was willing to drop back in order to put his team first. Hopefully the 25-year-old ends up being inspired by all the praise he will likely receive for Sunday’s display as that could spur him on in the coming weeks.
