Not much has been done to pray, Newcastle is already here. After an investment of more than 130 million euros in the summer transfer market and four consecutive victories, the Magpies (the magpies, in English) have seized third place in the Premier League with 27 points, one over Tottenham, four over Manchester United and six over Chelsea, their next rival this Saturday, at 4:00 p.m. (Spanish peninsular time).
Just before the World Cup in Qatar, the blues will put Eddie Howe’s team to the test, who has been named the best coach in the Premier in October. Without a doubt, a month of recognition for Newcastle, in honeymoon with its star, Miguel Almirónbecause the Paraguayan striker counts his goals for victories.
And no, it is not a saying. Almirón has scored at least one goal in the Magpies’ last six wins, made in seven Premier games, and has made Alexander Isaak’s injury forget. The record signing, that of 70 million euros, will not return until 2023 due to muscle problems in the thigh area, but even in this Newcastle have shown enough personality to continue rowing upstream.
“If I had foreseen it a year ago, it would have taken some of the stress off me,” joked Howe, a manager who is becoming more and more accepted in British football. His stage at Bournemouth was an appetizer of what he would have to experience just 12 months ago, exactly on November 8, when his arrival at the legendary St James’ Park became official.
Since then, and despite other serious injuries, such as that of Kieran Trippier last year, the English coach has managed to cope with the stress to which he himself referred and the general responsibility of a very ambitious project. So much so that the sporting director, Dan Ashworth, assured without hesitation just a few weeks ago that his goal was to catch up with Manchester City or Liverpool in “five or ten years”.
A bet that could be considered at least utopian if it does not become the financial support of the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi fund that has owned Newcastle for 13 months and has a capital of more than 360,000 million euros (a quarter of Spain’s GDP). And despite the great controversy over the relationship of this fund with the Saudi monarchy, the project has gone ahead and it seems soon to find its ceiling, although they are already in Champions positions.
