Legend says that a wizard named Merlin assisted King Arthur and thousands of years later his lineage continues and today it resides in a man known as Edward John Frank Howe who uses his magic to turn average association football players with confidence issues into world-beaters.
The latest player to be blessed with Howe’s magic is a Paraguayan man by the name of Miguel. Here’s his story.
Almiron signed from Atlanta United for £21m back in January 2019 becoming the club’s record signing at the time. He arrived with a weight of expectation after being courted by the club for a while. Almiron had been electric in the MLS and fans were excited to see what the lad could do.
Unfortunately, Almiron struggled for form in the early part of his Newcastle career and was lambasted by fans and pundits for his lack of goal contributions. In fact, it took almost a year for “Miggy” to find the net for the Magpies, finally bagging the winning goal against Crystal Palace in December 2019.
That goal sparked a run of form and the Paraguayan finished the season with eight goals, his best tally to date.
Almiron continued to frustrate fans, his lack of end product being a particular issue. Nobody could ever doubt his worth ethic as even on his worst days, Almiron would cover more ground than anyone on the pitch, but it was his final ball or weak shooting that would ultimately let him down.
Is There Even More To Come From Miggy?
Definitely
He's At The Peak Of His Powers Now
However, since Howe has come to Newcastle, Almiron has steadily improved. In pre-season Almiron was our main source of goals, and despite a shaky start to the season, Almiron has hit a pocket of form that sees him as Newcastle’s top scorer this season, a goal of the season contender and two consecutive appearances in the Team of the Week from the BBC.
It’s obvious that Miggy is a confidence player, and no doubt his confidence will have taken a knock after a totally uncalled-for outburst by Jack Grealish, but if Eddie Howe can find a way to keep his confidence up we’ll finally get to see the best of Almiron.
As for the Wizard, he’s already providing a magic touch to another player … Jacob Murphy. But more about that another time.
THE END
Watch me praise and defend Miggy against an Everton fan in our latest Vital Premier League Podcast