So, after what felt like an extended will-he/won’t-he saga, Miguel Almirón has called time on his Newcastle United career and will return to his old stomping ground at Atlanta United in the MLS.
The fee the club have received for ‘Miggy’ is officially undisclosed, but most good journalistic intelligence says it’s around £8m + £3m in add-ons. In this cold, harsh PSR world it will go down as pure profit as his ‘book value’ expired long ago with Miggy’s six years on Tyneside a significant stint at one club in the modern era.
Signed in the January 2019 for a then-club-record fee, Miggy went on to make 223 appearances for United. Initially, that £21m fee seemed to weigh heavy upon him as it took 26 games for him to open his account for United, but when he finally did it was a crisp left footed volley against Crystal Palace at the Gallowgate End.
As an era spanning player, Miggy has sometimes struggled with consistency in the last two seasons, unfortunately for the Paraguayan it has appeared as if his quality wasn’t able to keep up with the improved players signed around him.
However, Almirón, the Paraguayan with the most Premier League appearances ever, has left us all with many happy memories and for my money doesn’t deserve an ounce of malice or vindictiveness to be sent his way (as is often the way with social media these days.)
Purple Patch and PSG Memories
We all remember with great fondness the 2022/23 purple patch that saw Miggy become one of the top outside-forwards/wingers in the league for October 2022.
He scored six goals in six games, including absolute bangers against Fulham, Everton and Villa, and went on to win the Player of the Month award. My favourite goal in that run though was the one against Spurs; the run, leaving Lenglet for dead and firing it low and hard under Lloris to make it 0-2 was the first time that season I realised something special might be happening, as we took a top four rival to the cleaners in their own backyard.
That purple patch was also even more special as it came off the back of Jack Grealish’s crass and completely unnecessary comments about Riyad Mahrez ‘playing like Almirón’ in the wake of their title win. For the record: Miggy has scored 14 Premier League goals since those comments, Grealish has scored eight.
The obviously special opening goal against PSG in the first Champions League game at SJP in 20 years is another standout moment. His body shape and finishing prowess allowed him to fire the rebounded Isak effort into the side netting, sending the stadium wild and genuinely bringing tears to the eyes of older fans who had thought they might never see the like again.
Scoring at Old Trafford in the 0-3 win the season after losing the League Cup final to them was also a lovely moment as we got the thinnest slither of revenge. March 2020 also springs to mind, when Miggy scored two goals against West Brom, as we went to the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup for the first time in what felt like eons – as we briefly flirted with the idea of being an actual football club, despite the owner and the manager.
The Inconsistent Grafter
Unfortunately, moments like those above were outliers in the main with Miggy often frustrating through his inconsistency, especially when he could produce moments like the above. But what could never be called into question was he work rate and desire.
Eddie Howe said it today upon confirmation of Miggy’s departure: ‘On behalf of the club, I want to thank Miggy for everything he has given us during our time together.
‘He has been the ultimate professional, and he has been a big part of some of our most memorable moments in recent seasons.
‘He is a great person, and we’ll miss him greatly, but this is the right move at the right time for him and his family and we wish them well.’
And there, in Eddie’s final quote, is the often-overlooked part, Miggy will be leaving friends, colleagues and memories behind him. His son was born here, he undoubtedly helped other South American’s settle on Tyneside and he has been a positive influence in the dressing room. He was also part of the team that helped his fellow professionals achieve professional goals two seasons ago, some reaching heights they never had before.
Will United Now Sign Someone?
Personally, I think this is only a good move footballing wise for United if someone comes in in the next few days, as no matter what you think about Almirón, not replacing him or adding another forward player will leave the squad weaker overall.
Jacob Murphy is now the only naturally right sided forward/winger in the squad, everyone else would be makeshift, and if he goes down with an injury or loses form badly, whoever plays there will be doing so out of position.
We will just have to wait and see and that front. But that is for another day, today I just want to say:
¡Salud! Wor Miggy
