American journalist Roberto Rojas has claimed that Miguel Almiron has been a key component behind their success in the Premier League this season under Steve Bruce.
Rojas shared that he doesn’t believe the fact that Almiron hasn’t been involved in a single goal since arriving in January is the be-all and end-all, but that his pace on the ball has been a real asset to the Magpies in the final third.
It is suggested that his switch in position this season needs to be taken into consideration and that his goal for Paraguay in the recent international could switch his fortunes around.
“One of the key components of Newcastle’s success this season has been Miguel Almiron,” he told the Shields Gazette.
“He is yet to register a goal or an assist for the Magpies but the lack of numbers is not the be-all and end-all. Rather, his importance has been seen with his pace and skill of moving forward at speed has been an asset.
“It appears Bruce is slowly trying to get him to play in the style that he wants him.”
OPINION
It seems strange to call Almiron a key component behind the club’s success this season. Rojas needs to look at the bigger picture, and actually realise that if the forward was taken out of the starting side from each game this season, none of the results would actually have changed, and that goes a long way to explaining just how poor Almiron has actually been this season. There are no excuses for a player not being involved in a single goal in almost a year at the club, especially when he has started the majority of the games in that time period. It’s not as if the 25-year-old has missed a bucket load of chances in the final third, even for an assist, with the South American only averaging 0.7 key passes per game at St James’ Park [WhoScored]. No matter how positive Rojas is in his verdict on Almiron, it doesn’t change the fact that he is massively struggling in England, and it can’t be long until Bruce has to take him out of the firing line.
