The Magpies man, Miguel Almiron has left Grealish with egg on his face after a fantastic start to the season for Eddie Howe’s side.
“There were two mysteries… Riyad, number one, get him off the field as soon as possible. He played like Almiron the day before…”
That was Jack Grealish’s contentious response when asked about the secrets behind Manchester City’s latest title triumph in May. A 3-2 win over Aston Villa on the final day of the season was enough to secure City’s fourth Premier League title in five years, but it was extra special for Grealish, who joined the champions in a British record £100 million deal the previous summer and was experiencing his first title win.
He did endear himself in some ways with his wild post-match celebrations, but his classless comment comparing Riyad Mahrez to Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron left a bad taste. Perhaps fittingly, the jibe has not aged well for the Manchester City player over the last six months.
To put it bluntly, Almiron is thriving while Grealish is floundering: on the same weekend that Grealish failed to capitalize on his first Premier League start in over a month, Almiron scored the game-winning goal for Newcastle in a convincing win over Tottenham.
Since joining the Magpies from the United States in 2019, Almiron has struggled to live up to expectations on Tyneside, but he is currently enjoying a remarkable career renaissance.
The 28-year-game-winning old’s goal against Tottenham on Sunday was his sixth in just 12 games. That means Almiron is already having his most productive season in a Newcastle shirt – his previous high was four goals prior to the 2022/23 season. In fact, Almiron has scored more league goals this month (six) than Grealish has in total (four) since joining the Etihad in the summer of 2021.
But Almiron’s impact on Newcastle right now goes beyond goals. Almiron, along with Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier, has been a key figure in the Magpies’ impressive start to the season. In the absence of club talisman Allan Saint-Maximin, the former Atlanta United winger has been in electrifying form.
While Grealish’s ill-advised remark may appear to have sparked Almiron’s recent form, Eddie Howe insisted earlier this month that the winger’s motivation has not changed. Instead, the Magpies’ manager praised Almiron’s newfound confidence.