Former England international Darren Bent has hammered Newcastle United winger Miguel Almiron for his performance against Manchester United.
The Paraguay international’s lacklustre start to the season continued in the Magpies’ 1-0 win last Sunday, and Sky Sports pundit Bent was left frustrated by the struggling 25-year-old.
“I was watching the game on Sky and not only what a result, but what a performance. If there was a game where Steve Bruce got his team selection and tactics absolutely spot on, it was then,” he told Football Insider.
“Newcastle were hard to beat, first half they limited Manchester United to that one chance from [Harry] Maguire[‘s] header and then Almiron took half a year to shoot – I was screaming: ‘Shoot, shoot!’ but it’s obviously not going right for him.”
OPINION
This was yet another sub-standard performance from Almiron, Bent is absolutely right about that. The former Atlanta United man has really struggled to make an impact this campaign, and it’s his lack of composure in front of goal that is really hurting him at the moment. We all know he’s yet to score for the Magpies, but the worrying thing is he doesn’t look like he’s going to put the ball in the back of the net any time soon. The statistics from Sunday’s game tell you that he lacked cutting edge yet again for Bruce’s side. As per WhoScored.com, the South American had three shots against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team, but none of them were on target. He also failed to produce a key pass and had one unsuccessful touch. Furthermore, he made just 16 passes on the day, with a lacklustre 75% pass success rate. He’s clearly way short of confidence and it’s painful watching him at the moment. It’s no surprise Bent was screaming while watching him on Sunday.
