No matter what Miguel Almiron does between now and the day he departs Newcastle United, he will always be remembered. His momentous arrival in 2019 saw Mike Ashley break the Magpies' transfer record for first time since the signing of Michael Owen in 2005 - when Instagram had not been invented, Lionel Messi had only scored one Barcelona goal and Atlanta United weren't even formed.
Fans on Tyneside had lofty expectations when Almiron finally made his way over from the other side of the pond. The 28-year-old had featured in the MLS team of the year the two seasons prior to his transfer and had scored 13 goals as Atlanta won their first ever MLS Cup.
But fast forward three years and the South American is at a crossroads in his Newcastle career. In the club's recent unbeaten run that stretched from December 27 to March 10, Almiron featured a meagre 36 minutes, failing to make it off the bench at all in four matches during that period.
Join the debate - Buy tickets and further details of our live NUFC podcast fans event
Steve Bruce handed the former fan-favourite a start in the first seven league games of the campaign, while Eddie Howe has only included him from the outset six times since replacing the now West Brom manager. Almiron's disastrous four-minute cameo against Watford in January saw him fail to track Hornets defender Kiko Femenia, who in turn set up Joao Pedro for an agonising equaliser in front of the Gallowgate.
And his 30-minute showing against League One Cambridge United wasn't any better and laid bare the fact he is having a tough time re-finding his form. To add, since Almiron returned to the starting line-up earlier this month Newcastle have succumbed to back-to-back 1-0 defeats, which admittedly he can't solely be blamed for.
So, is it a prolonged stint of poor form? Or is he just not cut out for a side that will have high hopes of rapidly scaling the table should they secure top flight survival in the coming months? Ryan Fraser, Allan Saint-Maximin, Joelinton, and even Jacob Murphy are ahead of the Paraguayan in Howe's pecking order - and for valid reasons. The attacker hasn't found the net or assisted a Newcastle team-mate for 13 months since his brace against Southampton last season.
And with a war chest the size of which the Premier League has never seen before at their disposal, Newcastle's owners won't let sentiment cloud their judgement when it comes to offloading under-performing talent. So is his time up? Howe may not have made his mind up yet.
“Yeah, he has a massive role to play. I’m a big fan of Miggy," the Magpies boss said in recent weeks. "He has outstanding athletic and pressing qualities which, of course, we base our game around really."
Howe's right. His pressing ability and desire to cover as much ground as humanly possible is his best attribute. But it probably isn't enough for him to survive a first-team cull once the summer transfer window rolls around.
