NEWCASTLE UNITED HAVE completed a club-record deadline-day move for midfielder Miguel Almiron from Atlanta United.
The on-off move had been mooted since December, when Almiron led Atlanta to MLS Cup glory, and was finalised on Thursday as Newcastle splashed out a reported £20.5 million (€23 million) on the Paraguay international.
The deal sees the Premier League’s longest standing club-record broken, with the Magpies belatedly agreeing a deal to surpass their £16.5m (€18.8m) signing of Michael Owen in 2005.
Almiron was nominated for the MVP award in MLS in 2018, having quickly established himself as one of the league’s standout stars after arriving at the expansion side the previous season.
The 24-year-old scored 21 goals in 62 regular season MLS games, contributing 28 assists. He netted once and supplied two assists in six playoff matches.
I’m very happy and eager to start and to meet my new team mates,” Almiron told NUFC TV. “The league is very competitive, this is a historic club, and Rafa Benitez himself were the main reasons why I am here now.
“I think it is a great responsibility, something beautiful for me, and I will try to offer the best I can to repay the trust the club put in me.”
The move comes as a boost for both Benitez and Newcastle, with the manager out of contract at the end of the season amid fan frustration at Mike Ashley’s ownership of the club.
“We were following Miguel Almiron for a while, and we saw a player with some pace in attack, who can play behind the striker. We have someone who can score goals and give assists,” Benitez said.
“We know that MLS is a different challenge to the Premier League but he has the potential to do what we are expecting, and what we need.
“From talking to the lad, you can tell that he is really focused and wants to do well. He wants to be successful and he wants to help the team, to score goals and give assists if it is possible.
His impact in MLS has been really good — he’s been one of the best players this year — and hopefully he can give us more competition and more quality in the final third.
“I am pleased that the hard work behind the scenes has ended positively and I thank everyone for their efforts.”
The deal also represents a record for MLS, with a $27m switch the biggest transfer fee in league history. Bayern Munich winger Alphonso Davies previously held the $22m record.
Almiron became Newcastle’s second signing of the day, with Antonio Barreca also joining the club on loan from Monaco for the rest of the season.
There is an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign. Barreca left Torino for Monaco in July but has failed to impress for the Ligue 1 strugglers.
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2 La Ligas in a decade that sound like the best team of the decade?
To be fair 4 champions leagues in the last 5 years. As horrible a club like Real Madrid are in how their fans repeatedly boo their own players, treat their managers and truly believe they are above normal footballing rules as is standard across the board just because they are Real Madrid they are the best team of the last decade but Pepe is entitled to his opinion…maybe his view is biased with his Barca links as Mick McCarthy maybe be biased in how he views Gary Breen as one of the best Irish players that has ever walked the planet :-)
@Patrick McHugh: we all dream of a team of Gary breens a team of Gary Breens a team of Gary Breens
@Patrick McHugh: Guardiola is trolling of course. Barca have a superior league record recently but Real is also the first team to reach 4500 points in La Liga … the fans do boo players and it’s a shock for some to witness it but it only happens when they reckon the player isn’t giving a 100% effort , or is putting himself above the club . There are no sacred cows . And the results speak for themselves as does the fact that most players dream of playing for them … don’t write them off just yet in CL either . Ajax is the next rival up , a lot of injuries are clearing up and the fitness levels are back to where they should be after Lopeteguis departure .. it’s unlikely they’ll do a comeback in La Liga but the CL is still a strong option and let’s see what happens in Copa del Rey tonight
@Limón Madrugada: Visca Girona!!
@Karlos McGrath: let’s see what happens , won’t be an easy game but Real seem to have found their scoring boots at last . Hala Madrid !
@Limón Madrugada: To be fair to pep, he clearly thinks that winning the league consistently over the last ten years is a bigger feat than the CL.
And in that regard, Barca have dominated.
@Margarita Huanca: he clearly doesn’t because he signed for Bayern to win the CL for them , ultimately they didn’t need him to win their domestic league … similarly he signed for Man City who won leagues without him but are still way off a CL ..
@Limón Madrugada: True lad, but he did specify the domestic league when making this statement.
And to be honest, I think he has a point.
@Limón Madrugada: found this, didn’t think the all time record was that even https://www.goal.com/en/news/real-madrid-barcelona-clasico-record-head-to-head/hxdm74dgfby81w9bsiejduy05
@Dave O Keeffe: who did you expect to be further ahead ??
@Margarita Huanca: no he did not , he said ‘every year they win , the leagues , the cups’ so why do 4 of the last 5 CL not count ?
It’s a league ( of sorts) and a CUP … not to mention Real did the treble two years ago … and have been World club champions meanwhile too .. Guardiola is deliberately omitting Real Madrid , which in the end is a backhanded compliment … he’s a bitter and resentful man sometimes beneath his superficial saintly image
@Limón Madrugada: thought Real would be ahead by a good bit