MX23RW : Thursday, November 28 07:54:28| >> :120:66702:66702:

Miguel Almiron 'ready to begin training with Newcastle'

Miguel Almiron 'ready to begin training with Newcastle'
© Reuters
The club's record signing has spent the past few days in France.

Newcastle's record signing Miguel Almiron was due to train with his team-mates for the first time on Wednesday after being awarded his work permit.

The 24-year-old Paraguay international, who completed a deadline-day move to St James' Park from Major League Soccer side Atlanta United, had to leave the country while the paperwork was completed and he headed for Paris in the meantime.

However, Press Association Sport understands Almiron is back in the north east and was expected to join his colleagues at the club's Darsley Park training headquarters on Wednesday morning.

The playmaker is understood to have cost the Magpies in the region of £21million after a prolonged January pursuit which went close to the wire.

His name was at the top of manager Rafael Benitez's wish-list as he attempted to strengthen his squad ahead of a final push for Premier League survival.

Full-back Antonio Barreca, who also arrived on Tyneside last week in a loan deal from Monaco, made his debut as a substitute in Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Tottenham at Wembley.

Almiron could get his chance when the Magpies head for high-flying Wolves on Monday evening.

His capture represented a significant shift in a saga which has dogged the club in the last year or so, with owner Mike Ashley refusing to spend heavily in the transfer market while interested parties sought to put together workable takeover plans, and Benitez declining to sign a contract extension without assurances over the current regime's ambition.

The Spaniard is out of contract in the summer and, while he is keen to stay, there is little doubt he is frustrated at having to negotiate a second scrap for safety having expected to be given the chance to build upon last season's top-10 finish.

Whether or not Ashley's decision to invest in Almiron represents a rapprochement remains to be seen, with sources on Tyneside having indicated there has been no development on the contract front in the last week.

However, the fact the sportswear magnate sanctioned a club-record purchase for the first time in his near 12-year tenure perhaps provided a pointer as to the chances of the club being sold in the short term.

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Damian Spellman, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '8adfeca5-248e-401e-b3ec-532b2e4cdce0');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Miguel Almiron \u2018ready to begin training with Newcastle\u2019'});

ID:349477: cacheID:349477:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4432:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino watches on during the Premier League clash with Newcastle on February 2, 2019
Read Next:
Mauricio Pochettino praises Tottenham after another late show
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!