Miguel Almiron has been urged to ‘just hit it’ when it comes to opportunities in front of goal as his performance against Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the Premier League left the fanbase divided. Newcastle United may have won the game two-nil but many feel they could have claimed all three points by more goals if Almiron had taken his chances.
Fabian Schar and Callum Wilson scored the goals to secure all three points for Eddie Howe’s side but Almiron had several opportunities to open his own account- including one in the second half where he forced Dean Henderson into a good save. Yet, it was Almiron’s failure to actually shoot which has provoked more discussion than the efforts which were saved.
Speaking on The Everything is Black and White Podcast, Newcastle United editor Aaron Stokes feels Almiron’s performance did little to detract the club from their search for a new right-winger. “If they're signing one or two players still this month to take United to the next level you really need another right midfielder.
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“ Almiron, he made the good runs and was running in behind with Bruno finding him a lot with the sort of deft passes, those defence splitting passes but Almiron just has not got a right foot. I don’t think I've noticed that as much until Saturday just gone because there were so many times where I thought just ‘hit it.’ Hit it the first time or cross it but because he's got to take it back on to his left [it doesn’t happen.]
“That was the only thing that let him down really on Saturday. He still had a good performance. I'm not trying to dig him out because he did show moments where you thought he's looking good and carrying on that pre-season form.
“Against Forest, he ran about as he always does, give his all and was very very dangerous at times but I just think if Newcastle want to go to that level that they're aspiring to do, they probably need a better right midfielder.”
With the window closing on September 1st, Newcastle are finding it difficult to secure their targets, and with the need for a striker plus the question of just how much money is left in the budget, a right-side midfielder may not be seen as a priority by many fans. However, Howe is keen to bring in addition on that side of the pitch with Newcastle having previously looked at Moussa Diaby and Jack Harrison.
But with time running out in the market, podcast host Andrew Musgrove believes that the Magpies may have to accept that all the desired upgrades may not be forthcoming this summer. “It's interesting we're talking about bringing in potentially another winger,” Musgrove said, “and we know Newcastle are in the market for one but I still don't think it's necessarily a priority.
“It would be nice to bring in another winger of quality and of global level but when you look at how long is left in the window, you look at the budget, you look at what selling teams are charging and you look at who's a realistic option [is it doable?]
“Moussa Diaby, Newcastle liked him, and he was going to cost in the best part of maybe £50m. He decided to stay at Leverkusen because of Champions League football, and Newcastle are facing these challenges in the market.
“For now, it's not a priority, in my opinion, because you have Almiron who I do think is going to have his best season on Tyneside, you then have Ryan Fraser to come off the bench and offer a totally different kind of threat down that wing, and you've got Jacob Murphy again who, you know, other than not scoring offers quite a bit in the Premier League. He's a decent enough player.
“It just rolls into it a slow and steady build. This time next year when we're looking at the end of the summer window of 2023, then yes, if we were having these conversations where Miggy and Fraser are battling it to be the first choice and they haven't brought in another winger, then maybe we can start saying we need that winger right now but for where we are in this journey, I don't think it's a priority.”
You can listen to the full episode of The Everything is Black and White Podcast by clicking here. Andrew and Aaron discuss the chase for James Maddison and the renewed interest in Anthony Gordon.
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