Just 12 months ago, you’d have been called deluded had you described Miguel Almiron as prolific, decisive and the answer to our goalscoring problems out wide.
In his first 110 Premier League appearances for Newcastle, the Paraguayan scored nine goals. In his last 15 Premier League outings, he’s scored eight!
However, if you dig a little bit deeper, his stats in all competitions – including friendlies and international appearances – show he’s been involved in 23 goals across 2022 (20 goals and three assists). For a player who was often criticised for his lack of end product, that is quite incredible.
Following his brilliant brace against Al-Hilal last night, he’s now racked up 10 goal involvement in his last nine appearances, with eight of those coming in the Premier League.
He’s the most in-form player in England, created his own goal of the month competition in October after an array of stunning strikes and has single-handedly reduced our need to sign a right-winger; something which seemed the club’s most pressing priority just a few months ago.
The 28-year-old showed a flash of brilliance earlier in the year, scoring a belter in April’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, but he’s followed that with six goals and three assists over pre-season, three in his last six appearances for his country, eight goals so far in the Premier League and a brilliantly taken brace in Saudi Arabia last night.
No winger or attacking midfielder in the English top flight has scored more this season, with Mo Salah, Son Heung-min, Kevin De Bruyne, Wilfried Zaha, Phil Foden and James Maddison all struggling to keep pace.
20 goals in a calendar year for a man who many would’ve happily replaced this time last year is nothing short of incredible, with Miggy becoming the latest success story under the ever-improving Eddie Howe.
