Eddie Howe: Allan Saint-Maximin can make France squad

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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe spoke to the press ahead of Sunday’s match against Aston Villa. One topic Howe spoke on was about Allan Saint-Maximin potentially getting into the France squad. The Frenchman is yet to be capped at senior level.

Saint-Maximin put in a great display as the Magpies won 3-1 at home against Everton in midweek. His ball into the box was put home by Ryan Fraser to put Newcastle 2-1 up. Over the course of the 90 minutes, he was a real handful for the Toffees down the left side.

In the press conference (per Keith Downie at Sky Sports), Howe said about the 24-year-old: “100% he can get into the France squad as a Newcastle player. He’s got everything in his locker.”

If Saint-Maximin can find consistency, French call-up shouldn’t be too far away

Howe expanded on his comments in the same press conference.

The Newcastle manager said: “There’s no doubt he’s got the talent to do whatever he wants to do, but finding that on a consistent basis is the challenge for any player of his type.”

Newcastle’s number 10 has only played for France at youth level. He has caps for the nation’s U16s, U17s, U20s and U21s. He’s still got a lot of time on his side, so if he can find some consistency the call-up could be sooner than expected.

The home game against Villa will be a real test for Saint-Maximin. He’s likely to come up against Lucas Digne, who has fared well since joining the Villians. But if he performs as he did on Tuesday, he could guide Newcastle to 3 points.

Aston Villa drew 3-3 with fellow relegation rivals Leeds United in their last three Premier League games. The likes of Coutinho looked exceptionally good, but he went off with an injury during the game. Also, they looked vulnerable defensively and centre-back Ezri Konsa was sent off. So, he will miss this weekend’s fixture.

Saint-Maximin does often like to drift into the middle from outside. This could result in him having a field day in front of the St James’ Park faithful.

Hopefully, the winger can strike on his excellent display against Everton and follow it up with another on Sunday. If he does so, France manager Didier Deschamps will have to consider him for his squad.