Exclusive - Newcastle United are ready to listen to offers for midfielder Miguel Almiron, who has already been offered to prospective clubs by his agent – much to the annoyance of the Magpies – and was agitating for a move in the summer.
Almiron was the subject of controversial claims from representative Daniel Campos last week, declaring during an interview on Paraguayan radio that he could already have moved on had it not been for coronavirus impacting the transfer market.
Campos name-dropped Atletico Madrid, saying Diego Simeone’s side were interested but stopped short of making an offer, and has since made further comments talking up interest from Inter.
The agent also said his client wants to play more possession-based football and that he expects Almiron to make a ‘leap in quality’ from Newcastle soon.
The Magpies paid a club-record fee of just over £20m to sign Almiron from MLS side Atlanta United in January 2019, finally breaking through a transfer ceiling that had been in place since 2005. He had made his name during two fine seasons with Atlanta that culminated in winning the 2018 MLS Cup, but his time at Newcastle has failed to really live up to expectation.
90min has learned from sources close to Newcastle that the club is annoyed by Almiron’s representatives offering the 26-year-old around.
The Magpies will listen to offers and are prepared to accept a fee that gives them their money back because they do not believe anyone will pay more than £20m for the 26-year-old.
Almiron has not done enough during his time in England to attract interest from other Premier League sides, meaning Newcastle will have to look to Europe to try and offload him. So far, he has only seven goals and assists to his name in over 50 Premier League appearances, with just a single assist this season on the opening day against West Ham in September.
A source close to Newcastle explained: “Since the summer the club have known the player was seemingly agitating for a move, but they do not believe anyone is preparing to pay over £20m for him. While they believe his performances have been satisfactory – they do not believe he has achieved anywhere near the levels he is capable of and they will listen to any offers that come in.”
90min understands that Newcastle wanted Almiron to return from international duty early this week because he was suspended for Paraguay’s second game against Bolivia and couldn’t play. But he refused, meaning his return to England comes just 48 hours before Saturday’s game against Chelsea.
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Source : 90min