Allan Saint-Maximin was Newcastle United’s second-top goalscorer (5) and top assist-maker (5) last season, so he’s an important player to Eddie Howe. The 25-year-old has interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea among others, so his future at St James’ Park may be uncertain.
Newcastle slapped a £50m asking price on Saint-Maximin’s head months ago and Read Newcastle suggested Howe should sell the Frenchman if a suitor meets their demands, but Paul Robinson doesn’t believe it would be a good idea to let him go this summer. He believes the 25-year-old is worth keeping.
Robinson told Football Insider: “I’m surprised they would consider letting him go. I think Saint-Maximin is a top-class player. If you sell him for £40million I think you would struggle to replace like-for-like with that money. I think they could get more than £40million. It would be a good buy for somebody at that price.”
Saint-Maximin joined Newcastle from OGC Nice in 2019, setting the Magpies back £16.2m so they’d more than double their money if he was sold. The 25-year-old has made 93 appearances in all competitions, scoring 12 goals with 16 assists, so he’s averaged a goal contribution every 3.3 games.
In his three seasons at Newcastle, however, Saint-Maximin hasn’t scored more than five league games and hasn’t made more than five assists, so Howe might need a more prolific wide-man to take the club to the next level. And although Newcastle have wingers with a worse output than the 25-year-old, Saint-Maximin would generate a lot of transfer money if sold.
Read Newcastle would cash in on the Frenchman but will Howe?
