The '£50m' bullet dodged by Newcastle as Toon target embarrasses himself again

Back in July, a host of outlets announced that Newcastle United had launched a surprise bid for Everton winger Anthony Gordon.

It was a shock to many on Tyneside and a transfer link that came out of the blue. That said, what seemed even more baffling was the alleged price tag, with our £35m offer quickly rebuffed as Chelsea followed up with a £45m offer that fell flat.

According to widespread reports, Everton valued their local lad in excess of £50m; a fee they could only dream of receiving if his display at St James' Park was anything to go by on Wednesday night.

Where to start? His performance stunk in every way possible. Many on Merseyside may have fancied him to get some joy up against a 6ft 7' Dan Burn, yet he never looked like taking on the Geordie giant.

Not only did he fail to do anything worthy of a '£50m' player in possession, dribbling the ball out of play once and constantly turning back when faced with BDB, his antics off the ball were equally poor.

His diving is an embarrassment, yet he was having none of it when Kieran Trippier came over to give him an earful in the first half, turning a quiet word from the Newcastle skipper into a needless scuffle that saw him deservedly put in his place by Fabian Schar.

Is he a bad egg? I'm not sure, but I do know Miguel Almiron has scored four times since the 21-year-old last scored a Premier League goal, with some Everton fans even wondering why they didn't cash in over the summer based on recent performances.

The hype around him over the past 12 months has been over the top. He's a decent talent and could go on to be adored at Goodison Park, but I for one am relieved he didn't end up signing at St James' Park over the summer.

A blatant diver, yellow-card magnet - no one has more in the Premier League this season - and nasty piece of work who has a LOT to work on before warranting any big money move elsewhere.