Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United
Miguel Almiron of Newcastle United
Miguel Almiron's Newcastle United situation is not earning the Magpies many admirers in the winger's native Paraguay, with pressure continuing to build over a potential January exit.
The 30-year-old remains a key figure for his country, with Paraguay on the cusp of achieving qualification to the 2026 World Cup. National team boss, Gustavo Alfaro, is now concerned that his senior stars will be out of sorts for the final CONMEBOL qualifiers in 2025, calling on both Julio Enciso and Almiron to consider exits from Brighton and Newcastle, respectively, in next month's trading period.
“We talked when he [Enciso] came here, that he had the chance to leave," Alfaro told ABC TV. "So, I hope he can find a place where he can have continuity. The same goes for Miguel.
“We have to wait in these next couple of weeks, they can be important because they can define things. It can also happen that the player wants a change of scenery, and the coach doesn’t want to let him leave or the club doesn’t want to give him up.”
One Paraguayan outlet, Versus, last week wrote that Almiron 'continues to be wasted' at St James' Park during his peak years. This, after watching the former Atlanta United star go six consecutive games without playing a single minute under Eddie Howe.
Almiron was called upon from the bench in Saturday's defeat to Brentford as Newcastle chased a game that, in truth, they never looked likely to recover after falling behind in the second-half. On a personal level, it has been a tricky year for the Magpies star, who has gone just shy of 12 months without finding the net in the league.
Almiron's agent, Daniel Campos, recently insisted his client was determined to stay put beyond the winter window but Newcastle are open to selling should an acceptable offer emerge. MLS side Charlotte FC tested the waters for Almiron in the summer but were never close to meeting Newcastle's financial demands.