Darren Eales talks Atlanta United, Miguel Almiron and Newcastle United – What a journey | OneFootball

Back in January 2019, Darren Eales and Miguel Almiron were together at Atlanta United.

One of them running the club and the other a star player.

The final day of January 2019 saw Darren Eales complete the sale of Miguel Almiron to Newcastle United, for a reported £20m.

Two and a half years later and the pair were reunited.

Darren Eales appointed as CEO at Newcastle United in July 2022, just ahead of the new season.

You can’t credit the new CEO for this seriously good run of form that Miguel Almiron has been on…but maybe his arrival didn’t do any harm, with the pair reunited.

Pre-season saw Miguel Almiron with twice as many direct goal involvements (eight, scoring six and two assists) as any other NUFC player in the friendlies, then in the new season, Miggy now top scorer with seven goals from thirteen PL games.

Darren Eales talking about his involvement and appreciation of Miguel Almiron, with both Atlanta United and Newcastle United.

Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales talking to MLSsoccer.com about Miguel Almiron:

“I always joke because I’ve got twin boys who were about four at the time we had him in Atlanta.

“They love Miggy and we’d have kickarounds on the pitch for all the players and staff after a game.

“Miggy would grab James and Edmund and hug him, so when we sold him to Newcastle I was the mean dad who got rid of Miggy.

“So to be honest, one of the factors in taking the Newcastle job, I was glad to be able to say to them, ‘Yeah I’ve got you back with Miggy.’”

“I had to be careful when I was coming to check out the club before I signed, that I didn’t set any hares running.

“But then I officially accepted the job and the team was out on pre-season.

“Dan Ashworth, our sporting director, was next to Miggy on the team coach as they were going off to their training session and doing the video call saying it’s official now. He was so friendly and smiley that it’s a delight.”

Darren Eales recalling just before Atlanta United signed Miguel Almiron from Argentine club Lanus, talking to the then Atlanta head coach Tata Martino:

“I remember talking with Tata and my Spanish is terrible, but he used the word ‘crack’.

“It’s the first time I heard him use it, when we said we thought Miggy might be someone we could get.

“It was a very important signing for us with the style we played, under Tata with the press.

“Miggy is someone who thrives in that type of environment, so you could see Tata’s eyes light up when we mentioned his name.

“You could see the wheels spinning in his head of how he’d be able to play with him in the team.”

Atlanta United deciding on a policy of recruiting young emerging South American players, with the intention of progressing them and then later selling at a large profit:

“Miggy was the first of that new breed and now look, there’s lots of clubs doing great scouting, bringing strong players in.

“The talent in the league is getting better each year.

“There’s also a sense of when Miggy is doing well and scoring for Newcastle, there’s a sense of pride from MLS and Atlanta that he’s a player who developed through the league.

“MLS is part of the ecosystem, no different to how it is in most other countries in the world.”