Eddie Howe Must Sell £60m Newcastle Flop to Save Champions League Hopes

Newcastle United have looked flat in offensive areas at times this season, with the need for a natural right-winger evident, and thus Eddie Howe ought to sanction the departure of Miguel Almiron and replace him sufficiently, in order to reignite the Magpies’ top four aspirations.

After several of Saturday’s Premier League results went against the north-east outfit, Howe’s team now sit 12th in the English top flight, although they remain just three points adrift of fourth place Chelsea. Having scored just ten goals in their opening ten league matches, the Tynesiders certainly haven’t looked at their fluid best in the attacking third.

At the heart of this issue is their reconfigurated front-line this season, sparked by Almiron’s decline in prominence. The Paraguayan’s absence has meant Anthony Gordon has been deployed out of position on the right on numerous occasions, and Howe should fix this issue by selling Almiron and signing Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo in January.

Newcastle Should Sell Almiron in January

Mbeumo is the perfect replacement

Since scoring 11 league goals during the 2022/23 season, Almiron, who has a £60 million release clause, has been in sharp decline. Netting just three times in 33 appearances last term, the 30-year-old was said to have been made available on the market this summer, and Newcastle were in talks with a Saudi Pro-League club over a potential deal for the wide man.

Nothing materialised on this front, and Almiron has since started just one league game, playing a total of 105 minutes this season. Gordon has subsequently been shifted out to the right-hand side, a position he’s not played in throughout his career.

Suffering as a team due to this array of changes, Howe should look to amend the situation in the January transfer window. GMS sources revealed in late October that Newcastle, along with Liverpool and Arsenal, are eyeing a move to sign Mbeumo, valued at £50 million.

The Brentford winger has been in exceptional form so far this season, scoring eight goals in eleven league appearances. The perfect replacement for Almiron, the 25-year-old Cameroonian would slot into the right-hand side of Newcastle’s attack seamlessly, complimenting Gordon and Alexander Isak, and would likely be a signing that has the ability to catalyse a top four assault for the Magpies.