Miguel Almiron is coming off the back of a poor season at Newcastle United, scoring just one goal in 30 Premier League games, but he looks a new player this summer. The 28-year-old has scored six goals and made two assists in pre-season and has been tipped for a bright campaign by Paddy Kenny.

He told Football Insider: “Six goals, wow. They are pre-season games so they don’t mean a great deal but there is nothing better than getting them goals and getting your confidence up.

“It’s a new era at Newcastle and a fresh start. They are going to be pushing near that top half of the table and I don’t see why Almiron can’t be a part of that. He has had a cracking pre-season and that is what it is for, to get fit and get confidence. We will have to see how he does next season.”

Almiron joined the Magpies from Atlanta in 2019 and has gone on to make 123 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 goals with five assists. The Paraguayan international hasn’t been too prolific as a forward for Newcastle but couldn’t have prepared any better for the 2022/23 campaign this summer, so supporters will be hoping he finally proves his worth.

Almiron scored 12 goals with 13 assists from 32 MLS games in his final season at Atlanta before the Toon Army signed him, but he hasn’t managed more than four Premier League goals in a campaign since.

Eddie Howe still trusted Almiron during his goal drought last season as he’s a hard-working player who still adds value, but it was confidence in front of goal that he needed. So his six goals over the summer should go some way to achieving that.

In other news, Gabriel Agbonlahor says there’s ‘no way’ Newcastle sign Harvey Barnes from Leicester City