As the transfer window was closing on Thursday, Newcastle United secured the signature of Miguel Almirón, acquiring the Atlanta United star for a reported £21.5m ($28m). That figure sets a new mark for a departing player from Major League Soccer. In Almirón, Newcastle receive a versatile, attack-minded workhorse who may be the most impressive export to come out of the North American league.

The 24-year-old Paraguay international and his ever-present smile debuted with Atlanta United in their inaugural game two seasons ago, after arriving from Lanús in Argentina. Almirón immediately established himself as the Five Stripes’ first real star with his vision, blistering pace and skilled left foot. The man known to his fans as Miggy elicited “ohs” and “ahs” with nutmegs, dummies, layoffs, and fluid turns that sent opponents scrambling. Es un crack, as they say in South America.

A typical Almirón heatmap can look something like a Rorschach test, with blots speckled across the canvas. Skeptics might interpret this as a lack of sense for his position – perhaps he is too easily pulled away from his assigned territory, a flaw that would be punished by clinical Premier League opponents. However, he was allowed to roam free under former Barcelona and Argentina manager Tata Martino, mostly as a central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 or as a second forward in a 3-5-2. Almirón wore the No10 shirt in Atlanta, but his engine runs box to box. He is happy to track back and make tackles across the defensive third, and if his teammates are struggling to play out of the back, he will drop deep to provide an additional outlet before breaking lines with passes and runs through space. When Almirón does find room to stretch his legs, his instinct is to pressure the opposing back line. Despite a slight frame, he is strong enough to hold off a challenge, and few midfielders can match his acceleration and pace. Almirón’s biggest weakness is a reticence to use his weaker right foot, which can leave him with difficult shooting on the left of the penalty area and eliminates some otherwise playable passes. He is much more effective approaching goal when he plays a through ball, gets near the byline to hit a cross or cut the ball back, or strikes from distance.

Almirón’s attributes defined Atlanta United on the field. Martino deployed a variety of tactics: relentless counterpressing to win the ball in dangerous positions, a tiki-taka possession game, and the old sit-and-counter. No matter the strategy, Atlanta were always most dangerous when they could burst forward in transition. They launched against the run of play with speed and ferocity, the embodiment of Almirón’s game. The Five Stripes totaled 149 goals over two campaigns, forward Josef Martínez broke the league’s single-season scoring record in 2018, and the team won the MLS Cup in their second year of existence. Almirón, now a national champion in the United States, Argentina, and Paraguay, scored 22 goals and provided 30 assists in 68 games with Atlanta.

Miguel Almiron celebrates with his Atlanta teammates after clinching the MLS Cup last season. Photograph: Todd Kirkland/AP

“[MLS] defenders were always constantly judging and questioning how to mark him, how to defend him, a thing that would be very similar in England,” says Felipe Cardenas, the Atlanta United beat reporter for the Athletic. “Big defenders that don’t want to be caught in a foot race, if they get too close, he can get by them. If they give too much space, he’ll turn into that playmaker. So he brings a lot to a team and he can definitely play in the middle and help in recovery and pressing and ball retention, too.”

Manager Rafael Benítez has long coveted a creative playmaker who can control the game, and Almirón surely fits the bill. His work rate and flexibility will come in handy when Newcastle are forced into taking a more defensive approach, as he would not be out of place on the left side of midfield in a 5-4-1. Atlanta United rarely parked the bus under Martino, but on the rare occasions when it was required, Almirón displayed necessary discipline and awareness to hold his position.

Whether Almirón will prove to be worth the money for Newcastle comes down to whether he can thrive against the markedly better competition he’ll face in the Premier League. Benítez listed Almirón as his top target this winter, and he was prepared to walk away if a deal wasn’t made. Should the signing fail to improve Newcastle and they end up in the Championship, Benítez could be out the door on someone else’s terms.