The prospect of Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin forcing his way into the France national squad has been quashed by French football experts.
The 25-year-old still aspires to form part of Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus squad for this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.
France will head to the Middle East as the defending champions and will arguably be even stronger in the attacking department given Karim Benzema’s return to the national fold and Christopher Nkunku’s emergence.
Last summer, Saint-Maximin told teammate Callum Wilson of his ambition to participate in football’s biggest tournament.
In a report from the Athletic, one source says it [World Cup] is a “carrot” for Saint-Maximin, who has described building on his seven under-21s appearances with senior caps as “the pinnacle, the icing on the cake”.
However, despite having a loving relationship with the St James’ Park faithful, Saint-Maximin has a totally different relationship with the media back home.
“We don’t talk about Saint-Maximin as a top player here,” says Christophe Larcher, a journalist at France Football magazine.
“We know he is very gifted, but he is seen as selfish and not intelligent on the ball.
“He needs to fit into the team if Didier Deschamps, the France coach, is going to pick him. He simply hasn’t done enough.”
Ludovic Batelli, who was Saint-Maximin’s coach for France Under-20s in 2016 and 2017, agrees with Larcher’s damming assessment.
He said: “Allan’s career is not linear. He has huge talent, but he must do more.
“Allan is an ‘esprit libre’, a free spirit, and when you have Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Kingsley Coman, maybe you do not need someone like Allan.”
The mercurial Frenchman is a talismanic figure on Tyneside, but his decision making and sloppiness in possession which results in the opposition dispossessing Saint-Maximin in dangerous areas, maybe counting against him when Deschamps is selecting his squad.
Although his footballing intelligence could inevitably improve, Saint-Maximin is box office who can produce a moment of magic from nowhere.
Unfortunately for Newcastle’s number 10, France’s squad is packed with matchwinners and Deschamps has an embarrassment of attacking riches at his disposal.
“Saint-Maximin is very far from the national team,” Martin Mosnier, of Eurosport France, says.
“For Deschamps, you must be proven in the Champions League to play for France. Also, Deschamps has so many options in attack — to the extent that (Arsenal’s) Alexandre Lacazette does not even get a look. It is so competitive, and Saint-Maximin is nowhere near.”
In his current squad, Deschamps has seven forwards: Olivier Giroud, Griezmann, Mbappe, Coman, Wissam Ben Yedder, Moussa Diaby and Nkunku.
Anthony Martial, Benzema, Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram have recently featured.
Barring an almighty change in fortunes or major injury French injury crisis, Allan Saint-Maximin will have to settle for a watching brief in Qatar.
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