Steve Bruce has admitted that he was blown away by Miguel Almiron when he first saw the Newcastle United attacker play.
Almiron joined the Magpies from Atlanta United in January and while he has impressed with his pace and ability to dribble the ball at high speed, the Paraguay international is still yet to score a goal or register an assist in 14 appearances for the North-East club.
Bruce believes a goal will come for Almiron at some point if he keeps playing the way he is playing.
“(The) first time I saw him I thought, ‘Wow, what a good player he is.’ He’s a good player, the kid,” Bruce said, as quoted by the Chronicle.
“I think he needs a bit like when Joelinton scored. I think he feels he’s had a few chances. Last week, he had two great opportunities but didn’t take them but what he contributes to the team – you cannot but admire the way he plays.
“However, I think he is aware and everyone else is aware that he’s got to score a goal. He’s in an important position for us so I think it will come. I really do.”
OPINION
Almiron scored his first goal for Paraguay this week when he netted in an international friendly win against Jordan. While it was a bit of a scrappy goal, it was still a goal nonetheless and Almiron will no doubt take a lot of confidence from it and that could help him finally end his duck at St James’ Park. Almiron has flattered to deceive a bit since joining Newcastle in January. The 25-year-old is a player who will get fans off their seats with his quick dribbling and ability to drive the ball up the pitch with the ball at his feet. However for all of his trickery, Almiron has still only averaged 0.5 key passes per Premier League outing this season [WhoScored]. Christian Atsu, Matt Ritchie, Jonjo Shelvey, Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden are contributing more on average than Almiron, which just shows why he is yet to supply an assist for Newcastle. Only Joelinton has averaged more shots at goal than Almiron, so at the moment, it does seem as though a goal is more likely to come first than an assist.
