The 24-year-old is now the club’s record signing, surpassing the £16.5million the Magpies signed Michael Owen for from Real Madrid in 2005, and his arrival could now define the future of one of the club’s key men.
Having refused to sign a contract extension and threatened to leave if two players aren’t brought in this month, manager Rafa Benitez could now reconsider things, and Spanish football expert Guillem Balague reckons good news could be on the way.
“I’ve heard Rafa Benitez has been approached by a club in China and one in Saudi Arabia, both of them willing to pay €10million (£8.7million) net for two years,” the respected journalist revealed on his official YouTube account.
“This was about two months ago, and he said no. He had on the table a renewal of his contract for five years at Newcastle, which he hasn’t signed yet.
“With Almiron arriving, he should be a little bit happier. It’s taken a while for this to happen, but he would like this to continue, not as a one-off but for Newcastle to invest in the squad.”
From the look of things, Benitez wouldn’t hesitate to put pen to paper if he can be guaranteed of new signings during the next summer transfer window.
Defender Antonio Barreca has also been signed on loan from Monaco, and Benitez has surely been boosted in his mission to keep Newcastle up this term.
The Spaniard’s contract runs out at the end of the season, and while it’s unknown when he would sign an extension, assurances that more quality signings will be made will surely convince him to eventually do so.
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