Premier League Duo Newcastle & West Ham Locked in Battle for £10m Paraguay Midfielder

Newcastle United and West Ham United are both said to be pursuing £10m-rated Paraguayan midfielder Miguel Almiron this summer.

Almiron currently plies his trade in the United States with MLS side Atlanta United, who he joined from Argentinian club Lanus in December 2016. That deal was rumoured to be worth around £6m, but he has impressed during his time stateside and his price tag for either of his Premier League suitors is set at around £10m, according to reports.

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Atlanta currently sit at the top of the Eastern Conference in MLS and much of that has been down to the work of Almiron from midfield. So far this season he has made 21 league appearances, scoring eight times and providing 11 assists in the process.

This has done enough to catch the eyes of both West Ham and Newcastle who, according to The Sun, are both in talks with Almiron's representatives over a possible deal.

West Ham have already been making waves in the transfer market after signing Łukasz Fabianski, Andriy Yarmolenko, Jack Wilshere and Felipe Anderson among others, while Newcastle have been typically quiet on the transfer front thus far, only sealing permanent deals for Martin Dubravka and Ki Sung-Yeung.

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The Magpies have been hesitant to spend vast amounts of money in the past and the fact that their transfer record is still the £16m they spent on Michael Owen in 2005 speaks for itself.

If an all out bidding war does break out, then it would be no surprise to see West Ham get the better of Newcastle on this occasion.