Eddie Howe spoke highly about Allan Saint-Maximin in his pre-Brentford press conference which was held post-West Ham.
Due to the Magpies staying down in London between the West Ham and Brentford clashes, Eddie Howe decided to double up his media duties on Wednesday and held a brief pre-match Q&A for the upcoming Brentford game.
During the presser, Howe was asked about Allan Saint-Maximin and how he’s been coping with the limited game time this season. The Newcastle United manager was full of praise for the mercurial winger saying: “I think MaxI has been very focused for a while now. I think he’s trained really well. First and foremost I always judge that as the first aspect of their game I judge because for me that then leads to the performance. So he’s trained well he’s been focused he’s, I think really keen for the team to do well.
‘Saint-Maximin is an integral part of our team’ – Eddie Howe
“Yeah, he’s an integral part of our team because he’s something slightly different. No one else can do what Maxi does, he is very much an individual, but he’s performing well in a team structure.
“I think the message to him is we just want to see the best Maxi possible.
“Now there’s loads of things that go into making that possible. Firstly, the responsibility always lies with the player. I said that so many times and players have improved and developed into having really good seasons for us. They deserve all the credit. So the responsibility is with him he’s really focused on doing well at the moment and it’s great to see.”
Saint-Maximin is going through a revival lately. He’s starting to look back to his best and has teed up two goals in his last two outings while also giving defenders literal nightmares.
Howe is starting to get the best out of Maxi
It has taken a while but it looks like things are starting to click for Maxi under Eddie Howe and it’s giving the team another dimension in their attack that’s been lacking for a while.
The £20million signing from Nice is rediscovering his form at the best possible time with the summer transfer window fast approaching. All signs were pointing to a Maxi exit, but now he could be about to save his Newcastle career.
Maxi has been vocal about wanting to stay at Newcastle and help the team achieve its goals, but his on-field performances haven’t really backed up his claim until recently. If he can continue to put in the same type of performances as we’ve seen in his last two games, Maxi could be about to save us a big chunk of money in the summer.
I don’t think Eddie Howe and Dan Ashworth will abandon their search for a new winger even if Maxi does continue to work well in the team, but they might not feel the need to make that position a top priority and drop down to the next tier of targets. Instead of spending £60million on a ready-to-go Moussa Diaby, they could maybe look at a £30million option with a view to being a future starter.
As Howe said, there’s no one who can do what Maxi does, so he’s a fantastic option to have when he’s at the top of his game.
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