Newcastle United’s transfer budget Malcolm Macdonald has suggested that Newcastle United should look to sell Allan Saint-Maximin this summer for a sizeable fee.
I take any reports on the actual figure of what Eddie Howe can spend this summer with a huge pinch of salt. We’ve seen guesses from as little as £75million in the The Express to £150million in The Sun. The bottom line is, nobody outside of Newcastle United really knows.
Whether they need to sell or not, it’s never a bad move to cash in on players who hold mare value as a sellable asset than a member of the squad, and in his article for The Chronicle, Malcolm Macdonald has suggested that Allan Saint-Maximin ticks that box.
Saint-Maximin ‘flatters to deceive’ according to Macdonald
Super Mac has suggested that Alan Shearer would find Saint-Maximin immensely frustrating to pay alongside, writing: “I’ve been going through my list of expendables so let me start right away with my most controversial decision. I would let Allan Saint-Maximin go but only for a sizeable fee.
“Oh, I know he is probably one of the most skillful players United have got if not the most skillful. But for all his possession, for all his ability and pace to frighten people, his end product is nowhere near good enough. Watch him regularly and you know he flatters to deceive.
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“Time and again after having his opponent on toast he will turn back and start to do it all again instead of whipping in a cross. Maxi would have driven me mad as a centre-forward and I bet he would have done the same with Alan Shearer.
I don’t think the penny is going to drop now. He is what he is. Mind you, with his ability to be a crowd pleaser several clubs will be interested. So let him go and flourish elsewhere.”
I find it hard to disagree with anything in that mini rant. On his day, Saint-Maximin is ‘unplayable‘, he had Kyle Walker questioning his life decisions in the early fixture against Manchester City last season, and a few more mezmerising performance between then and the end of the season.
The key word there being “few”, as Saint-Maximin missed a lot of football last season, and when he was fit there were times he just didn’t look up to the task.
The club is moving forward but Saint-Maximin isn’t catching up
Macdonald’s point about Saint-Maximin having players on toast only to turn and try and do it all again is exactly what it is that frustrates me about him. We all know he’s brilliant with the ball at his feet, he doesn’t need to try and prove it every time he receives a pass – just do something with it.
I know there will be a pocket of fans reading this cursing my name for suggesting that Allan Saint-Maximin is anything less than what his name suggests, a Saint, but his inconsistency makes him a liability.
I’ll never forget him for what he’s done for us and for sticking by the club when it was an absolute mess, but the club is moving on and so far I’ve not seen enough evidence to suggest he’s keeping up with the changes. As Super Mac said, there will be many clubs who would love him, so why not cash in now and bring in someone who fits the Eddie Howe style?