Michael Owen reveals the concerns that he has over Miguel Almiron’s move to Newcastle

It’s fair to say that most Newcastle fans are excited to see what Miguel Almiron can do. The Paraguayan clearly has a lot of natural talent, and given our offensive struggles, that can only be a good thing for the Magpies.

However, former Magpie Michael Owen has raised a few concerns regarding Almiron, and he doesn’t appear to be convinced by him just yet.

As per the Daily Star, Owen said: “I’ve watched a bit of him and he looks a talented player. He’s obviously a flair player, scores goals, creates goals, has got a good left foot”.

He continued: “He’s been successful in the American league, whether that can translate is the big question. He doesn’t look like a huge physical presence, he’s more technical and we just hope in the Premier League with the pace and the physical aspect of the game he still manages to show his ability because he’s certainly got a lot of it.”

Owen does raise some interesting points. At just shy of 5ft10, Almiron is a small player, and his frame is obviously not particularly large. However, that doesn’t mean that he won’t be able to adapt. Some players, despite small frames, are built well enough to withstand the pressure – like Eden Hazard at Chelsea, for example. Still, we’ll have to hold out judgement here until we see him in action.

His point about adapting to the Premier League, though, is important. It’s always tough for a player, particularly from the MLS, to adapt – and so we can’t expect Almiron to be at his best straight away. He’s going to need time – time that we, perhaps, don’t have.

Owen seems to recognise his ability, though, and that’s a good thing. We’ll just have to hope that the former forward’s main fears aren’t realised.

Thoughts?