Eddie Howe is expected to be very busy in the transfer market this summer as Newcastle United look to build a squad capable of competing in all competitions next season and Allan Saint-Maximin could be a casualty of the rebuild.
This season Newcastle have found themselves at the top end of the table and in a major cup final, things that haven’t happened in so long that we’d forgotten what it felt like. However it has been generally accepted that the squad lacks the strength and depth to sustain that level of competition for the entire season.
That’s something we have seen already with dips in form in the league as well as another early FA Cup exit at the hands of lower-league opposition.
Therefore it’s expected that there’ll be a huge shake-up on Tyneside this summer with plenty of incomings and outgoings.
Maxi could be sold by Newcastle if he pushes for a move
The Telegraph have reported on the key areas Newcastle will be looking to strengthen and given their view on possible outgoings. One player they think could be heading for the exit is £20million forward Allan Saint-Maximin.
While The Telegraph don’t claim that Newcastle are looking to offload the Frenchman once dubbed ‘brilliant‘ by former loanee Jetro Willems, they do think that if Maxi were to start to agitate for a move there’d be little resistance from the Newcastle hierarchy.
Saint-Maximin has been very hit and miss for Newcastle this season. If we’re being completely honest, mostly miss. His injury record has been horrendous, like Callum Wilson levels and when he has been fit he’s rarely impressed.
Credit where it’s due, he was excellent against Wolves and it looked like he’d formed an excellent partnership with Alexander Isak. It genuinely got me excited to think of the possibilities, but then he followed that performance up with whatever that was against Nottingham Forest.
Granted, Eddie Howe said he was carrying a knock, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but generally, I think Maxi’s time is up. He doesn’t fit Howe’s style of play, that’s been evident since day one. Graeme Jones and Jason Tindall appeared to be raging with him against Forest before he was hooked at half-time.
Allan Saint-Maximin: Part man, part bandage
Every time Maxi has played this season he’s come out sporting a new bandage, it’s like he’s held together like a Blue Peter project and a strong wind will see him collapse into a pile of severed limbs on the pitch.
There’s a massive support of Maxi amongst the Toon Army. Mostly those who remember his excellent performances in the Steve Bruce days when we were so poor that the things he did with the ball were the only form of excitement we got.
The reality is though, he’s not suited for the way Newcastle are trying to play now. The problem is, the more times Howe tries to play him, the more he gets found out and that’s only going to decrease his value. I feel like we could have got around £50million if we’d sold him in the summer.
His stock was at an all-time high having impressed under Steve Bruce and was still doing bits for Eddie Howe when he arrived in the November. Now, though, I feel we’d be lucky to get £30million for him based on this season.
We know there’s a talented player there, but clubs will be seriously thinking about how he fits into their team now. Tottenham have been said to be interested in him for a while, but will they still be interested come summer?
While I am thoroughly of the belief that it’s time to cash in and move on – there’s no room for sentimentality anymore, we need to progress – I do worry that we sell him to another Premier League club and he finds his form again and comes back to haunt us.
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