Worth £14.4m, signed for 46% more: NUFC had a nightmare on "all energy" 27-y/o dud - opinion

There has been unwavering attention on Newcastle United in recent weeks regarding potential transfers given the significant upgrade in their financial status as a result of their Saudi-backed takeover.

After PIF’s first transfer window at the top of the Newcastle hierarchy, Eddie Howe’s squad is certainly stronger, with the signings of Bruno Guimares and Kieran Trippier the standouts from January.

However, the new regime will need to learn from previous mistakes made by their predecessors in the transfer market, with some current players in the squad falling well short of the expectations laid out for them upon signing.

This particularly applies to attacking midfielder Miguel Almiron, who certainly hasn’t lived up to the then-club record £21m fee Newcastle reportedly paid Atlanta United for him in January 2019.

Three years on from his move to the northeast, the Paraguayan has only scored 13 goals for the club in 110 appearances, whilst registering just five assists. That’s a return of one goal involvement every 6.1 games.

To put the figure into perspective, Almiron was averaging one goal involvement every 1.63 games for Atlanta, having scored 22 goals and contributed 21 assists over 70 appearances for the MLS outfit.

Granted, arguments can be made about the difference in the quality of opposition faced in the MLS and Premier League, but the performance figures and price tag would have indicated that the Magpies could have expected a more significant output than what has actually been produced.

With the transfer window now shut, Howe will have to make do with the squad he has in order to steer the Tyneside club clear of relegation to the Championship.

The Englishman will be steering the ship, but he’ll need his crew