Newcastle ‘open’ to selling ‘unplayable’ £16m fan favourite
Newcastle United are ‘open to selling’ French winger Allan Saint-Maximin, according to reports.
Saint-Maximin moved to the Premier League from Nice for around £16m in August 2019 and has made 85 appearances for the Magpies.
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He has been one of the Geordies’ best performers in recent seasons, becoming a favourite of the St James’ Park faithful.
The 25-year-old’s style of play has seen him widely praised, with Joleon Lescott calling him “unplayable” after a terrific performance against Everton in February.
“Saint-Maximin was outstanding, unplayable at times,” Lescott said. “He was causing so many problems going forward.
“He is so unpredictable, I certainly would not want to play against him!
“If he continues to produce that every game, he won’t be playing at Newcastle, he plays for one of the best teams in the world because he has got that much talent, he is a remarkable player.”
According to 90min, Saint-Maximin might get his chance to play elsewhere, as they claim the Magpies are ‘open to selling’ the Frenchman.
He has been ‘pushing’ for a new contract this season – despite having over four years left on his current deal – with the Newcastle board reluctant to offer him higher wages with so much time left on his contract.
The report claims that Wolves are interested in signing the winger, with Adama Traore expected to leave Molineux at the end of the season.
Everton are also interested but will likely need to avoid relegation from the Premier League in order to sign Saint-Maximin.
Howe said: “We contributed to that [score]. We were 1-0 up and executing a good plan. We were controlling them as best we could.
“I don’t think [it will damage] morale. In hindsight we might look back on this as a good thing. It might realign our thoughts and get us back to the basics.
“We’re still in a huge fight to stay in the division. That’s six away games in seven. Now we return home and they’ll be massive games.”