Newcastle United star Miguel Almiron is showing David Moyes the error of his Said Benrahma ways at West Ham.
It is not just £100m flop Jack Grealish who Newcastle hero Almiron is making look a bit silly right now.
West Ham manager Moyes should be wincing himself with every passing Almiron masterclass for the Magpies.
Newcastle’s wiry Paraguayan winger was once heavily linked with West Ham before being brought to St James’ Park from MLS by Rafa Benitez.
But he would be inherited by old school Steve Bruce – eventually hounded out by restless Newcastle fans – whp clearly failed to get anything like the best out of his jet-heeled and skilful attacker.
Almiron was the butt of an ill-judged joke from Grealish back in May. But Newcastle’s star scored another beauty in a 2-1 win at Spurs which has has left Grealish with egg on his face amid a wonderful start to the season for Eddie Howe’s side.
The 28-year-old’s match-winning strike against Spurs on Sunday was his sixth goal in just 12 games. That means Almiron is already enjoying his most productive season in a Newcastle shirt – prior to the 2022/23 campaign, his previous high stood at just four goals. In fact, Almiron has plundered more league goals this month (six) than Grealish has managed in total (four) since his mega-money move to the Etihad in the summer of 2021.
His impact as a tormentor in chief for Newcastle goes beyond goals, though. He is a man who now strikes fear into opposition defenders.
Almiron’s form has been described as a ‘renaissance’. But is simply the product of having a manager who believes in him and gives him confidence to play with a measure of freedom that gets the very best out of his talents.
Newcastle star Miguel Almiron showing David Moyes the error of his Said Benrahma ways at West Ham
Newcastle star Almiron showing Moyes the error of his Said Benrahma ways at West Ham.
Benrahma and Almiron share many similar traits.
But not only does West Ham’s Algerian wizard create more chances per game than Almiron, he is officially the best playmaker outside the top six.
Despite that Benrahma cannot get a proper look in at West Ham under Moyes.
As West Ham fans will know, Moyes has always taken a taskmaster approach to managing Benrahma.
Benrahma has divided opinion among Hammers fans. And besides the start of last season, the Algerian playmaker has failed to ever truly establish himself as a consistent starter under Moyes at West Ham.
Like Almiron at Newcastle before the arrival of Howe, Benrahma has too often been stuck on a hamster wheel of inconsistency.
He has a tendency to play well as a substitute only to flatter to deceive when given a start – resulting in a return to the bench.
Moyes likes his players to work hard and graft for the team above all else. He is unashamedly old school in that respect – much like Almiron’s former manager Bruce, a good friend of West Ham’s boss.
Many feel Benrahma has had his wings clipped and his flair and spirit crushed somewhat by Moyes’s insistence that he take almost surgical care with his every touch of the ball.
Almiron is proving that players like him and Benrahma can flourish by having a manager who believes in them and makes them feel 10ft tall.
A manager who encourages them to make the most of their skills rather than worry about giving the ball away in trying to unlock the opposition.
Benrahma is quite capable of doing for West Ham what Almiron is doing for Newcastle right now.
He just needs the faith of his manager, a run of games and the freedom to express himself.
Whether he will ever get that at West Ham under Moyes remains to be seen.
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