Newcastle United Opinion: Almiron’s success should prompt the Magpies to play a gamble of Jefferson Savarino

According to Sky Sports, Premier League duo Newcastle United and West Ham have been credited with an interest in Venezuelan playmaker Jefferson Savarino, who currently plies his trade with Real Salt Lake in the MLS.

The 22-year-old is currently representing Venezuela at the Copa America and Sky Sports understands that both the clubs had scouts in attendance to watch the talented playmaker in action against Brazil on Wednesday, although he never came off the bench in his nation’s 0-0 draw.

The same source claims that Savarino is likely to be available for a fee of around £6 million this summer, meaning that the Premier League clubs might as well look at him as somewhat of a bargain signing.

Savarino has been in a decent run of form for Real Salt Lake in the ongoing 2019 season of the MLS, having already registered 3 goals and an assist in 13 appearances till date.

Currently, in his third season in the MLS, the 22-year-old has carved out a reputation for himself as one of the best emerging attacking midfielders in the league over the years.

Given that Miguel Almiron earned a big-money move to the Premier League six months back, a move across the Atlantic certainly doesn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility for the Venezuelan this summer.

A youth product of Venezuelan club Zulia, Savarino racked up 23 goals and 12 assists in 53 appearances for his boyhood club in all competitions before joining MLS outfit Real Salt Lake on loan in 2017.

The youngster was an instant hit in the United States in his very first season and his tally of 6 goals and 5 assists in 22 league outings prompted Real Salt Lake to make his stay permanent.

Savarino never looked back and gradually went from strength to strength in the subsequent campaigns, establishing himself as one of the most exciting players in his team.

The 22-year-old has quite an impressive record in the MLS, having amassed 16 goals and 18 assists in 70 appearances for Real Salt Lake in all competitions till date.

Noted for his ambidextrous nature as a footballer, Savarino is essentially a right-winger by trade but he is also capable of operating out wide on the left and through the centre in a No.10 role behind the striker.

A sharp, agile and energetic presence down the flanks, the Venezuelan combines his lightning pace and quick acceleration with his silky dribbling skills to cut inside from the wide areas, whilst also possessing a good eye for key passes in the final third.

Standing at just 5ft.7 inches with a diminutive frame, Savarino is blessed with the gift of low centre-of-gravity, which allows him to keep good close control down the wide areas.

However, according to statistics, the 22-year-old averages 2.6 moments of bad control per game, whilst also being dispossessed 1.7 times on an average.

Those figures paint the picture of a pretty wasteful player and the youngster clearly needs to work on those things if he is to make an impact in a more competitive league, such as the Premier League.

Taking about his strengths, the Venezuelan averages 2.4 dribbles, 1 key pass and 2.9 shots per game, whilst also drawing 2 fouls on an average. Hence, it is quite clear from those numbers that Savarino likes to take defenders on and he is a bit of an unpredictable player, which is quite natural at the age of 22.

To put things into perspective, Newcastle will once again need to focus on cost-effective signings should Mike Ashley retain his ownership.

However, the success of Miguel Almiron at Tyneside should prompt the club to look at a few more talented players in the MLS, and given that Savarino isn’t going to cost them a fortune, it won’t be a bad idea for them to bring him in this summer as a long-term prospect.

With question marks lingering over the future of West Brom loanee Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez, Newcastle need to look at other options in the market.

Savarino is not the finished article by any means but the 22-year-old is still in the developmental stage of his career and has a lot of time to make significant improvements to his game.

Also, the Magpies need to act quickly and sort out the future of manager Rafael Benitez, who is out-of-contract very soon.

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Chelsea loanee Robert Kenedy has returned to his parent club, while Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy have not done an awful lot in recent times, meaning that Newcastle need to look for fresh options down that right-hand side.

Savarino might not be a world-beater but he has the potential to develop and splashing out £6 million won’t be much of a gamble for Newcastle.