Newcastle star Miguel Almiron has become a bit of an unsung hero for the Toon Army, according to journalist Pete O'Rourke.

The Paraguay international is playing the best football of his St James' Park career and O'Rourke reckons he's quickly become an important player for Eddie Howe.

What's the latest news involving Almiron?

It's approaching four years since Newcastle broke their club record fee to bring Almiron to the north east from Atlanta United in a £20m deal.

But the winger has generally struggled for consistency during his time in English football, highlighted by the fact he scored just nine goals in his first three full seasons.

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However, Almiron looks to have taken his game to another level this term and has already matched his previous best goal return in the Premier League after just nine games.

That's because the 28-year-old has already struck four times in the top-flight, with 75 per cent of those coming in his last two outings against Fulham and Brentford.

As a result, O'Rourke reckons that he's become a key member of Howe's team, even though he doesn't perhaps always get the credit he deserves.

What did O'Rourke say about Almiron?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "He's scoring goals, he's providing goals and he's now becoming a regular in Eddie Howe's team, so he's become a key man in the side and maybe he's not getting the headlines like Bruno [Guimaraes] is getting, but he's definitely doing his job for the team."

What is Almiron's contract situation?

When Almiron arrived in English shores back in 2019, he signed a five-and-a-half year contract at St James' Park.

But with his form patchy for most of his Newcastle career, he's never been rewarded with a new deal.

That means Almiron has entered the final two years of his current £42,000 per-week terms and will be hoping his recent goalscoring form will earn him an extension.

If he doesn't sign a new deal before the end of the season, Newcastle might have to consider cashing in on him to prevent a situation where he runs his contract down and they end up receiving a smaller fee for his services.

But on current form, there's nothing to suggest that Almiron won't be putting pen to paper in the near future.