'Delighted': Eddie Howe singles out one man for being 'creative' force against Wimbledon

Newcastle United plodded to a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

As far as performances go, while it was far from the utter bilge we'd been witness to in the opening games of the season, it was very much lacking in excitement as Newcastle passed the ball sideways and backwards without ever doing anything to make Wimbledon think they were at risk of any kind of hammering.

Indeed, were it not for Miguel Almiron earning a penalty for the Magpies the game would likely have gone to penalties with a 0-0 draw looking the most likely outcome.

Fortunately Fabian Schar's coolly taken spot kick found the back of the net and proved to be enough to send the Magpies into the next round.

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Eddie Howe labelled Miguel Almiron as 'outstanding' on Tuesday night

We found it hard to award anyone other than the goalscorer with anything resembling an above-average score in our ratings piece, but Eddie Howe reserved his praise for an unlikely candidate who, we must admit, did impress us last night - in as much as he looked to be the only one trying to score.

Eddie Howe told The Northern Echo that Miguel Almiron was 'outstanding', praising his creativity which is a word we'd hesitate to use in connection with last night's game unless it was qualified as a lack thereof.

“I thought Miggy was probably our standout performer creatively.

“He had two good halves, obviously created the goal for us. He had good energy, linked well especially in the second half.

“I was pleased with him. He has a big part to play. Today everyone fit and available was in the squad. I’m delighted with Miggy@

Miggy is still being linked with a Newcastle exit

It's interesting that the day after Eddie Howe says he has a 'big part to play' the rumours of a January exit for the Paraguayan resurface.

It's clear that Miggy's future lies away from St James' Park, but we have a feeling we'll not see him go anywhere until the summer unless we have a replacement lined up to come through the door in January.

Just this afternoon we've seen two players linked for that position, albeit one seems a bit fanciful despite the report claiming a bid has been made. Raphinha is on fire for Barcelona this season and it seems strange to suggest that Hansi Flick would let him leave in January. Bryan Mbuemo meanwhile, that one could actually happen.