Allan Saint-Maximin had just started to find his form again for Newcastle United with some brilliant displays and notching two assists in his last two games, but now faces another injury set-back.
Saint-Maximin has been in and out of the side all season due to injuries and form issues, but we were just starting to once again see the best of the French magician. In his last two outings he looked like the Maxi of old but with the added bonus of playing the way that suits Eddie Howe‘s style.
With the recent performances and positive noises coming from inside the Newcastle camp, it seemed like Maxi was here to stay beyond the summer, but now with yet another lengthy lay-off in his future, Newcastle may be about to reassess that position.
Allan Saint-Maximin has literal cult status on Tyneside and there are fans who believe he can do no wrong. There are also those who think his time is up at Newcastle, he doesn’t fit Howe’s style and doesn’t display the level of commitment he expects.
I sit somewhere in the middle of that range, maybe leaning more towards feeling it’s time to cash in on the 26-year-old. I’m not against him staying by any means, as long as he can continue where he left off in his last two outings.
However, I do think he’s a sellable asset right now. He’s still got a good reputation and players with his abilities and flair are often coveted by teams lacking creativity. It’s no coincidence that he stood out so much under Steve Bruce as he was our only really creative player in that side. Now we have better players in our squad with Bruno Guimaraes and a transformed Joelinton, we don’t need to rely as much on the fancy footwork of Maxi to make things happen.
Saint-Maximin is being chased by AC Milan and Newcastle could use his sale to ease the FFP burden as we look to build our squad. Moving on Saint-Maximin could, for instance, make it easier for Newcastle to sign James Maddison or Moussa Diaby.
Maxi has missed eight Premier League games through injury already this season and is now set to miss several more in a very important month for Newcastle.
When he does play, he plays wrapped in more bandages than a Scooby-Doo mummy, whether they’re just a strange fashion choice or they’re literally holding him together only he knows, but given his injury record this season they do seem to be more functional than fashion.
With Newcastle’s schedule set to be vastly increased next season with the addition of European football, can we really afford to have players on the books who spend so much time sidelined? I get it’s a bit of a Catch-22 situation, we need more bodies for squad depth, but there’s not much point in that depth if the squad aren’t fit to play.
All of these things will no doubt be considered when Newcastle start to make solid plans for the summer when they know which competitions they’ll be competing in next season.
There’s still every chance that Maxi could return for the last few games of the season and blow us all away again and this whole point becomes moot, but right now, his situation looks precarious at best.
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