Newcastle United lost 2-0 at Aston Villa on Monday night.
Pundit Jamie Carragher has told Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football (10:23pm, 25/09) that he thinks it may be time for Newcastle United to drop Miguel Almiron.
The Magpies headed to Aston Villa on Monday night, and having dropped just two points in their last three games, they were looking to continue the good form.
However, Newcastle came unstuck from two first half set pieces, with Conor Hourihane whipping in a free kick for the opener before crossing for Anwar El Ghazi to add a second.
Newcastle couldn’t break Villa down and headed back to the North East with a 2-0 defeat and plenty of decisions for Steve Bruce to make.
His attack once again fell flat, as whilst Allan Saint-Maximin was busy and went close with a second half strike, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron failed to make an impact.
Almiron again struggled, squandering a chance created by Saint-Maximin with a poor first touch and blazing a long-range strike over the bar; that’s probably the extent of his performance.
The Paraguayan was substituted for Christian Atsu in the second half, and fans are once again wondering when everything will click for Rafael Benitez’s big January signing.
Now, pundit Carragher – as transcribed by The Chronicle – suggested that Almiron is playing like he’s on fast forward, and whilst he feels sorry for the playmaker, it may now be time to take him out of the team and give him a break from his struggles, with Carragher worried that it’s not even just a mental issue with Almiron, but actually a lack of quality.
“When I watch Almiron, he almost looks like he’s on fast forward,” said Carragher. “The pace breaking is fantastic but the lack of quality in front of the goal really let them down but it was more before they even got to the finish tonight. They’re dangerous but the lack of quality massively lets them down. We’re laughing because in some ways we like what we’re seeing in terms of the burst of pace, you think it’s a nightmare for defenders, but I do think it has come to the stage now where Almiron has to come out the team. He hasn’t scored a goal or created a goal in how many games? 23.”
“In some ways I feel a bit sorry for him, I felt that when he came in under Rafa he was trying too hard, but now you’re getting to the stage where you are worried if there is actually enough quality there to be in this team and in the Premier League. He had a tough start, a new manager comes in and he’s starting a new season, but to not get a goal or an assist, that’s actually hard to do if you’re an attacking player. I think it might be time for him to come out,” he added.
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