Almiron honoured to be Newcastle's record signing

Newcastle United broke its transfer record for the first time since 2005 to sign Miguel Almiron, who is honoured by that show of faith.

New Newcastle signing Miguel Almiron

Miguel Almiron is honoured to be Newcastle United's new record signing after joining from Major League Soccer club Atlanta United for a reported £20.5million.

The on-off move had been mooted since December, when Almiron led Atlanta to MLS Cup glory, and was finalised at the end of January as Newcastle splashed out on the Paraguay international.

As a result, the Premier League's longest standing club-record transfer record was broken, with the Magpies finally securing a deal to surpass their £16.5m signing of Michael Owen from Real Madrid in 2005.

Almiron, 24, was nominated for the 2018 MVP award in MLS having swiftly established himself as one of the league's standout stars after arriving at the expansion side from Argentinian club Lanus the previous season.

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His record of 21 goals and 28 assists in 62 regular season MLS games highlights how effective Almiron can be in the final third, and he is raring to make his mark on the Premier League.

"I see this as an honour to be Newcastle's record signing, but I try not to pay too much attention to," Almiron told reporters.

"It's secondary to why I am here – I am here to bring something to the squad. My main aim is to settle in and get to know my team-mates.

"For some time now, MLS has been improving in how competitive it is. Each year you see more quality players coming into the league and it is a good sign.

"Similar in England, you get a lot of good young players coming to play in the Premier League and it can only be good for both leagues.

"I am a player who tries to get my team playing around me and to help those team-mates each game too.

"It's been a hectic week and now I feel settled and happy to be able to train on a daily basis. I have put some decent work in in training with my team-mates and I feel good in myself.

"I am settling in with my team-mates with tactics and it is up to the manager to see if I can play on Monday at Wolves, but I am ready."