Newcastle United have already found four-goal Miguel Almiron 'upgrade' as transfer plan revealed

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Newcastle United must now look to find a replacement for Miguel Almiron after selling him to Atlanta United in the final days of the winter transfer window.

Almiron left Newcastle after six years to rejoin his former club Atlanta United in a deal worth around £10million. The Paraguayan made 223 appearances for Newcastle, scoring 30 goals.

In the current squad, only Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson had scored more goals for Newcastle than Almiron. And head coach Eddie Howe admitted the winger would leave a big gap in the squad that would be hard to replace.

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With new signings not expected in the final days of the transfer window, Howe and Newcastle must now look within to find a replacement for Almiron in the squad.

Newcastle United have already got a Miguel Almiron ‘upgrade’

Since Almiron dropped out of the side last season he has struggled to get back in due to the impressive form of Jacob Murphy. Almiron was previously first choice on the right wing with Murphy having to settle for a bit-part role at times.

But this season Murphy has stepped up and formed a potent partnership with Alexander Isak. The 29-year-old leads the way for assists at Newcastle this season with eight to his name in the Premier League.

In comparison, Almiron registered six Premier League assists in six years at the club. The consistency and reliability of Murphy to get balls into the box as a natural right-footed player playing on the right make him a dependable outlet in Howe’s team.

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But the Newcastle boss believes the competition between Almiron and Murphy ultimately brought out the best in both players rather than there being a clear first choice in the position.

"I think two players fighting for the same position, we've got that a lot within the squad at the moment, is a great thing,” he said. “And I think it's, up for debate, you know, everyone goes, 'Oh, what's your strongest team?' And, 'You must know your strongest team'.

"And I always say it's always in a state of flux because you never quite know, form is a temporary thing, and you really do want players to show their best form and their best moment to challenge the person that's got the shirt. And then that can easily change to them owning the shirt. And then you want a really good response from the other player.

"That's a really good team working or a really good squad working together, to benefit each other. So, yeah, Miggy and Jacob, they fought for the shirt. They shared minutes together.

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“Miggy went on a really good run of form, in part because Murph was breathing down his neck. He was fighting for the place.

“And then it sort of switched the other this year to Jacob nailing the shirt down and keeping his place and Miggy fighting and training very well, I have to say, to keep Murph very much where he needed to be in terms of his performances.

"So now we're gonna have to find another solution on the right there we're gonna have to look at different ways that we can offer support and competition for Jacob."

Who replaces Miguel Almiron at Newcastle United?

The sale of Almiron poses a fresh problem for Howe in terms of who can be the alternative to Jacob Murphy should any squad rotation be necessary. Anthony Gordon, Joelinton and the currently injured Harvey Barnes have all started matches on the right-wing this season but all prefer playing elsewhere.

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And when asked who could take Almiron’s place as the back-up right winger in his squad, Howe told The Gazette: “No one, currently. I don't think there is a natural player, we'll look at a few different options. 

“Joelinton has played wide for us this season. As I said, Will Osula could possibly [play there], we'll have a look at that. But I don't think we have a huge queue of players that naturally wouldn't necessarily excel playing on the right, but we'll have to find a solution, of course. 

“We need support for Jacob, he's not going to be able to play every minute of every game, and we also need to push him. We'll look at the academy and see if there's anyone there who deserves an opportunity - we'll look at all options.”

Newcastle have given opportunities to Ben Parkinson and Trevan Sanusi from the academy in competitive matches over the past two seasons. But both are currently out injured.

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Garang Kuol is also capable of playing on the wing but has generally struggled to adapt to senior football since moving to Newcastle in 2023. He is still waiting to make his competitive debut after frustrating loan spells at Hearts and Volendam over the previous two seasons.

Will Newcastle United make a move in the transfer market?

The right-wing position is the only area of the squad that has remained effectively untouched since the takeover in terms of making a natural signing. While a late move this transfer window is unlikely, Howe admitted that the plan would be to sign a replacement for Almiron in the summer when the club have time and money on their side.

“Unless someone comes from the blindside and surprises us in that position [internally], I'd imagine we would possibly look to sign someone in that position,” Howe admitted. “I always say there are no guarantees with anything but the natural feeling would be that we would need a replacement for Miggy eventually."

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