Asked if he had compiled the impressive set of clips himself, Almiron said: "No. My best mate made the compilation."

He added with a smile: "You'll only see if that was true when I play."

Almiron's signing, for a fee believed to be in the region of £21million, went some way towards placating manager Rafael Benitez, who had grown increasingly exasperated by the club's transfer business in recent windows.

The Spaniard is hoping for big things from a man who was at the top of his list, although Almiron has brushed off suggestions he could establish himself as a hero on Gallowgate.

He said: "I don't for one minute consider myself to be an idol or a hero. What I want to try and do is my best for this club and help out my team-mates by doing what I can out there on the field.

"Every player who comes to the Premier League comes with a dream to achieve something big, and it's similar with me.

"I want to work really hard to help my team-mates as a group and bring something to the team, add quality."

The diminutive Almiron comes from a humble background in Asunción, where his father worked as a security guard and his mother in a supermarket before his success allowed them to retire.

He has been described by former team-mate Kenwyne Jones as "an animal" on the pitch and nicknamed "the lizard" for the way he runs.

He is a Christian – he has a quotation from scripture, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life", tattooed on his right forearm – and attends church when he can.

The midfield playmaker, who could make his debut at Wolves on Monday evening, said: "I'm not an angel, though I try to go every so often to church to put right my sins."

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