PIF completed their takeover of Newcastle United last month to bring Mike Ashley's 14-year reign on Tyneside to an end.

Ashley left St James' Park after years of mediocrity on the pitch, with only one season of finishing higher than 10th in the Premier League in that time and 10 bottom-half finishes.

Ashley's legacy

The lack of quality work in the transfer market was one of the factors behind these lacklustre seasons, with Ashley leaving behind a legacy of poor recruits for PIF to come in and clear up. One of those was the addition of Miguel Almiron in 2019.

The Paraguayan joined the Tyneside club from MLS outfit Atlanta United for a reported £21m fee in January 2019, which was a club-record deal at the time.

In 103 matches for the Magpies, he has scored 13 goals and produced five assists, which works out at one goal contribution every 5.7 games for the club. In the Premier League, he has eight goals and three assists in 91 games, averaging out at a goal contribution every 8.27 games. This is a poor return for a player who came in as an attacking midfielder for a club-record fee and it typifies the recruitment that Ashley oversaw in his tenure at Newcastle.

The midfielder also came out in March and publicly stated he would like to play for a team which 'fights more'. Former Premier League player Carlton Palmer reacted to those comments by claiming that Almiron would create problems in the dressing room, telling Football FanCast:

“If I was Steve Bruce, I would be absolutely annoyed and angry. There’s too much, there’s too much coming out of Newcastle at the moment. I mean, the manager’s had a flare-up with one of the players, which is an everyday occurrence at football clubs up and down the country.

“Whether it’s between player and player or between player and manager, whether it’s a big player and a coach, there’s always a disagreement, but why that gets into the public domain… Him making that comment now is going to create more problems within the dressing room because players are going to turn around and say, ‘well you’re accusing me of not fighting then for the club?'”

This suggests that the 27-year-old is causing problems on and off the pitch with his displays and his comments, which is why he has been a disaster of a signing for the club.

At the time of writing (29/11/21), Transfermarkt value him at £15.75m. This is considerably less than the £21m that Newcastle paid for him and shows that he has gone downhill since arriving in England, rather than impressing and increasing his value by putting in strong performances. Therefore, the Magpies had a bit of a howler with his arrival from the MLS in 2019...

AND in other news, Howe could save NUFC's season with "beautiful" 27-goal beast, he loves St James' Park...