Newcastle fans watched on as their side picked up their fourth point of the season against Watford at St. James’ Park on Saturday, and whilst they couldn’t get the win it was still a good shift from the Magpies. However, it wasn’t quite as good as the week beforehand when the Geordies won 1-0 away at Tottenham.
In the aftermath of the draw at home to Watford, one man in particular in the Newcastle ranks has come in for plenty of stick from the press and the fans, with a lot of it warranted. That man is Miguel Almiron and the Paraguayan midfielder needs to start scoring and assisting sooner rather than later.
The Telegraph were very critical of the South American man, as were Newcastle Toons, although should the midfielder start playing in his favoured area then we may start to see the best of him, which we haven’t seen since his time at Atlanta United in the MLS.
In the 2017/18 season, whilst plying his trade in Atlanta, the midfielder bagged himself a total of 12 goals and 13 assists in his 32 appearances, however, when playing as an attacking midfielder as opposed to a striker or a winger he delivered 22 of his combined 25 goals and assists in just 26 games, Transfermarkt.
This season, Almiron has either been used out on the right-wing or as a striker alongside Joelinton, and it’s obvious that he doesn’t fit into either of those roles. The same applied last season, as in his 10 games in the Premier League he was only used in the #10 attacking midfield role once, with the rest coming as a left-winger, Transfermarkt.
It’s not difficult to pick out the direct correlation between Almiron bringing goals and assists and Almiron playing as a #10 behind the striker. For the Newcastle man to start firing it will require a change of system from the 5-3-2 and 5-4-1 that are being used, but in the long run, it looks like moving the Paraguayan is certainly worth it.