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The true impact of Miguel Almiron's move to Newcastle United has perhaps been felt more than 4,000 miles away in his former home of Atlanta.

Usually, when a player leaves a club with their best years ahead of him, the last thing those fans who have been left behind want to do is follow their progress closely.

But a number of Atlanta United supporters have adopted the Magpies as their second team, setting their alarms early on a Saturday morning to watch their hero on teleivison.

If anything sums up the impression Almiron left in his three years at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it's that. It's the reason why the grandparents of Almiron's former team-mate, Josef Martinez, still ring 'Miguelito' regularly.

Club president Darren Eales admits the biggest issue with Atlanta selling Almiron a year ago was telling his five-year-old twin boys, Edmund and James, that their idol was moving on.

From the first day he met Almiron in Argentina, when the former Lanus forward turned up in a modest car, Eales knew it was his dream to eventually play in the Premier League - but Almiron's deadline day move to Newcastle was far from straightforward.

"I know Lee [Charnley] from my days at Spurs and there had always been an interest," Eales told ChronicleLive. "They spent a lot of time scouting him to make sure he was a player that fitted them so we knew they were a club that would genuinely be interested and were going to able to pay the sort of fee we were looking at.

"It was hard because, as you know, Mike [Ashley] drives a hard bargain but it was one of those transfers where it was the right deal for the player. We owed it to him to give him that chance. It was great for Newcastle to get the player and good for Atlanta and MLS, itself.

"You've already seen in the last couple of years the South American talent coming into the league and they're able to point to Miguel and say, 'If you put the work in, if you put that effort in and produce on the pitch, you have a chance of going to a top team in the Premier League' so I think it's been a real good signing for the league."

The move was around nine weeks in the making - Almiron's agent, Daniel Campos, jetted in on a fact-finding mission in November- and Rafa Benitez kept an eye on the player's progress for the best part of 18 months before he eventually arrived on Tyneside in a helicopter.

Almiron's new team-mates had seen a few clips on Youtube so had an idea of what to expect but while they were immediately struck by how slight he was, they realised the new signing had pace to burn in that first training session at Benton.

More than anything, the dressing room knew Almiron had the mentality to be a hit in the Premier League with his willingness to track back and help his team-mates.

On Almiron's debut against Wolves, Isaac Hayden noticed how the forward got up, smiling, after being hacked down by Joao Moutinho. "Welcome to English football!" Hayden told him.

The 25-year-old quickly endeared himself at the club - belting out Rafa Blanca's 'Mujer Amante' during his initiation on a warm-weather training break - and bonded with the sizable Spanish-speaking contingent.

Indeed, Almiron and his wife, Alexia, were soon invited to Federico Fernandez's 30th birthday party. The club's Spanish speakers also held get togethers at Halloween, when Almiron dressed up as Michael Myers, and at Christmas and those friendships have helped the Paraguay international and his family settle on Tyneside.

When it came to life in the North East, Almiron was quickly struck by the little things that were different to Atlanta - the leaves blowing on trees for example - but the PlayStation lover lives a relatively simple life.

Every week, he gets his hair cut in the city centre and while he is a little shy when it comes to conversing in English, Almiron is happy to take time to speak to fans - even bringing in a signed shirt for the barber's wall.

Just as in Atlanta, Almiron quickly struck up a bond with the club's supporters and, on his home debut against Huddersfield last February, Wor Flags unveiled a banner in the Gallowgate End bearing the phrase 'Quiero Contar Contigo'.

Those words - loosely translated as 'I want to count on you' - mean a lot to Almiron in more ways than one as it was what former manager Tato Martino told him when he convinced him to move to Atlanta in 2016.

Among those who were struck by the impact Almiron made in his first few months on Tyneside were Steve Bruce's friends, who told him the forward had lit up St James' Park.

Little did they know that Bruce, who had just taken charge of Sheffield Wednesday, would soon find himself in the hot seat at his boyhood club.

Almiron had a good understanding with Benitez - the Spaniard was one of the main reasons he joined Newcastle -but has also enjoyed working with Bruce.

The idea of dropping Almiron during his lengthy goal drought was not something the Newcastle head coach considered. Bruce was keen to publicly back Almiron, pointing to the fact he had never seen running statistics quite like the Paraguayan's and how he trained every day like it's his last.

Almiron never let his head drop during the drought because he knew he was helping the team and could count on Bruce's support.

The feeling within the club and Almiron's camp was not only that more goals would follow once he broke his duck but, also, that he would be that little bit calmer in front of goal once he started scoring again.

After 11 months, 26 appearances and 2,191 minutes, the moment finally arrived in the 82nd minute against Crystal Palace on December 22.

Fabian Schar swung a cross into the box, Andy Carroll rose highest to knock the ball into Almiron's path and the 25-year-old volleyed home to send St James' Park into raptures.

Almiron peeled off his shirt, threw it into the air and celebrated with a ball boy in the bouncing Gallowgate End before being mobbed by his ecstatic team-mates. The forward's immediate thought when the ball hit the back of the net? His family watching on back in Asuncion.

"Miguel is a boy very close to the family and it fills me with pride that he is like that. He is a magician on and off the field," Almiron's uncle, Diego, told ChronicleLive.

"We are very proud as a family of Miguel. Seeing him playing amongst so many stars and still standing out fills us with pride. We know that he will improve every day because he is very dedicated and enjoys what he does.

"He has always kept calm and goals were never his priority. He priorities the team, sacrificing himself and winning. He wants to win even when he plays ping pong with friends!"

Is it any wonder Bruce has vowed to bray down the door if Newcastle find another Almiron?