NEWCASTLE UNITED are bracing themselves for formal inquiries about Allan Saint-Maximin after Chelsea and Tottenham were both credited with a growing interest in the French midfielder.
A number of reports emanating from London have suggested that both Thomas Tuchel and Antonio Conte are pondering a move for Saint-Maximin, who is contracted to St James’ Park to the summer of 2026.
Despite the capture of Raheem Sterling earlier this summer, Tuchel is still keen to strengthen Chelsea’s attacking resources following the departure of Romelu Lukaku, while Conte claims Spurs’ spending is not yet at an end despite the acquisition of six players this summer for a combined outlay of around £100m.
Saint-Maximin has established himself as one of the most exciting wide-attacking players in the Premier League since joining Newcastle from Nice in the summer of 2019.
He has made 93 appearances for the Magpies in all competitions, scoring 12 goals, and was a key component of Eddie Howe’s first-choice line-up last season.
If either Chelsea or Spurs were to table a formal offer for the 25-year-old, Howe and the rest of Newcastle’s recruitment team would find themselves with a decision to make.
On the one hand, receiving a fee of around £40m for Saint-Maximin would transform the Magpies’ ability to make signings of their own this summer. Newcastle have been priced out of moves for both Moussa Diaby and Alexander Isak in the last couple of weeks, but they would potentially be able to make a renewed push for both players if they were to cash in on Saint-Maximin.
They would be deprived one of their leading attacking assets if Saint-Maximin was to move though, with the Frenchman having been the source of their main supply line in each of the last two seasons. For all that he can occasionally suffer from a lack of end product, the winger is one of the few potentially world-class performers in the current Newcastle squad, and the club’s new owners might worry about the signal that is given out if the club decides to sell to a side in the Premier League’s established big six.
Howe is an avowed admirer of Saint-Maximin’s creative skills, and speaking during Newcastle’s recent training camp in Austria, the Magpies manager outlined just how important he expects his side’s maverick to be this season.
“We’ve worked really hard with Maxi during pre-season,” said Howe. “He’s in a really good place, I think. He looks happy and he’s trained well.
“He’s delivered everything that we’ve asked him to deliver. You know, we’ve pushed him physically. He’s responded. So, I’m hoping for a very, very good season.”
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