Brutal Miguel Almiron decision made with Newcastle United transfer saga set to accelerate

It was a rather disappointing end to a pretty underwhelming Copa America campaign for Miguel Almiron in the early hours of Wednesday morning as the Newcastle United winger was brutally hooked at half-time during his country's 2-1 defeat to Costa Rica.

The narrow loss means the Albirroja finished bottom of their group without picking up a single point against last night's rivals, Brazil or Colombia. Almiron started the final game but was shown an early yellow card before being replaced at the interval.

"It was a bad tournament, a bad performance," under-fire Paraguay boss Daniel Garnero said at full-time. "I am here because the association requested my services and if they don't want me to continue, that is their decision. I'll have to discuss that with them."

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As for Almiron, he will now enjoy some down time before returning to Newcastle's Benton HQ later this month. Speculation persists over his future on Tyneside, with a transfer saga set to accelerate.

The 30-year-old has admirers in Saudi Arabia, while some Premier League sides have been tentatively linked with a summer swoop. Almiron chose to remain at St James' Park back in January when Saudi Pro League side Al-Shabab expressed their interest.

Newcastle have eased the financial pressure applied to them due to profit and sustainability rules [PSR], for the time being at least, but will still look to offload stars before the September transfer deadline. Almiron is one of few 'sellable' assets but there is also no great rush from Eddie Howe to sell the wide man.

The former Atlanta United attacker has been a regular fixture in Newcastle's post-takeover plans and the Magpies' boss has placed a lot of trust in him. A substantial offer emerging may force Howe's hand in letting Almiron leave but it will not be an easy deal for any club to pull off.

“This year he’s worked incredibly hard and been reliable for us," Howe said in January when rumours again swirled over a potential Almiron exit.

“He’s always been fit and hasn’t missed many games and that’s been vitally important to us when we’ve had some many injuries to our attacking players. He’s not underestimated by me in terms of his personality and what he produces on the pitch so of course I would like to keep him.”