Toon is where Maxi’s dreams can come true
THE interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in Allan SaintMaximin is real - or at least the Frenchman has been looked at by senior talent-spotters from both clubs in the last few months.
Spurs took a close look at SaintMaximin last season during the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at St James’ Park, when the forward turned defenders inside out and put on a bit of a show in front of the Geordie crowd, and Chelsea have been monitoring him for some time.
Saint-Maximin has been carrying a knock in pre-season but is now getting back in the groove - as Burnley discovered on Saturday in a training game.
He now heads into his fourth season at St James’ Park, and in two of them he has been player of the year with Chronicle Live, as voted for by supporters.
Last season I wrote early in the campaign that it would be the contributions of the Frenchman which would probably keep Newcastle in the division - and after five strikes and five assists he more than played his part in that 11th-place finish.
The coming season on Tyneside is one in which Saint-Maximin can absolutely be the main man at St James’ Park.
It s easy to forget the former Nice star is still only 25 and a couple of seasons away from his peak.
As things stand there is nothing concrete from either Spurs or the Blues and head coach Eddie Howe wants Saint-Maximin to be one of his key players for the season.
The prospect of him being part of a front three in a 4-3-3 formation is still an exciting one and everybody knows what he can do on his day.
Saint-Maximin could forge a deadly combination with Callum Wilson and that is before you start toying with ideas of a right-sided forward joining the party before the window closes.
Yet even if Newcastle did not manage another forward signing, Ryan Fraser or Miguel Almiron could easily settle down and be part of prolific front three, not least given Fraser and Wilson’s historical statistics together.
Saint-Maximin could easily have pushed for a move and been given it in the summer of 2021 and arguably after his first season too a year before.
However, he wanted to stay and even challenged the club to finish in the top 10 or fight for one of the cups.
Speaking to the Chronicle earlier this year, he said: “I have a really good relationship with the fans - if I did not have this relationship with the Newcastle supporters I would not be here now.
“So the supporters are really important to me, I love them, I love the club.
“The supporters help me play better. I will never forget that.”
The lure of London is a big one for European players but here SaintMaximin can be the main man if he wants to.
At Spurs or Chelsea, players can often become part of the squad and end up in a rotation system.
Saint-Maximin is hardly pushing for a move and if anything looks delighted to be where he is.
Under Howe that top-10 dream and a cup run is being spoken about within the camp.
Under a new look United the French talisman can achieve his dreams at St James’ Park.