Newcastle United: Steve Bruce backs “sensational” Miguel Almiron to return to form
Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce believes just one goal will open the floodgates for Miguel Almiron.
The 25-year-old arrived at St James’ Park for a then club-record £21m fee last January, but has so far struggled to recapture the form which made him such a hit at Atlanta United.
Can Almiron be a success with Newcastle? Five things to know…
- Almiron was Newcastle’s club-record signing when he moved from Atlanta United for £21m.
- That record has since been broken by the £40m capture of Joelinton.
- Almiron is yet to provide a goal or assist in 22 appearances for Newcastle.
- But he did score against Bulgaria for Paraguay last week.
- Bruce believes Almiron just needs to score once for Newcastle to open the floodgates.
Almiron scored 13 goals for the Five Stripes during 2018 as they sealed the MLS Cup title, but he is yet to find the back of the net for the Magpies and hasn’t been able to influence games from his right-wing berth, leading to question marks regarding his signing.
However, the Paraguayan did have a noticeable effect in terms of creativity under previous Newcastle coach Rafael Benitez, and after scoring for his country during the recent international break, Bruce is now backing him to find his feet at club level, too.
“He’s got two in three in internationals. I thought he was sensational against Bournemouth. I’ve never seen anybody in 20 years cover the distance and play with the intensity he does,” he told reporters.
“It’ll come because he’s a multi-talented player. If he scores one, it’ll open up.”
Newcastle beat Bournemouth 2-1 before the international break and travel to 17th-placed Aston Villa on Monday looking to extend their run of just one defeat in five games.
