Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Manchester City - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - August 21, 2022 Newcastle United's Allan Saint-Maximin reacts after the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
BBC man Harry de Cosemo has dismissed talk of Newcastle United selling Allan Saint-Maximin this month.
The Lowdown: Exit looking unlikely
Saint-Maximin will likely be very frustrated with his newfound situation at Newcastle which has seen him become more of an impact player from the bench following his injury earlier in the season.
The Frenchman has been linked with moves to both AC Milan and Nottingham Forest this month, however, the local media within Newcastle has seemingly poured cold water on any potential exit.
This is likely because once Saint-Maximin can get a run of starts under his belt there’d be no denying the talent he possesses having started the season very impressively with one goal and two assists in his first four league matches.
The Latest: Saint-Maximin not going to be leaving
De Cosemo has been speaking on the True Faith podcast about Saint-Maximin’s future and how there is no truth to reports linking him with a midseason move.
He said: (12:00) “There’s nothing in the Saint-Maximin thing from his side, I’m sure clubs are interested and I’m sure they’re playing on the idea as a lot of these reports are that he’s not playing so they’re probably looking at it thinking we may as well have a look and see if it will happen.
“Honestly, I can’t imagine him leaving in January and I can’t imagine him leaving in the summer either because I think eventually what will happen is he’ll go back into the team and starts having a more talismanic sort of role within the team in a different to what he did under Bruce.”
The Verdict: Howe would be crazy to lose Saint-Maximin
Given how important Saint-Maximin has been for Newcastle during some of their darkest years under Steve Bruce ranking near the top in both goal and shot-creating actions in both the 2021/22 and 2020/21 campaigns, it would be insane to let him leave now.
This is because as Newcastle are striving to become one of England’s top clubs, they want to be improving their squad and keeping their best players and not lose someone who once had a £50 million price tag on his head.
Also, reports suggesting that Saint-Maximin could be bought for around £26 million are likely to be very wide of the mark given he still has a contract to run until the summer of 2026 after signing a long-term deal in 2020.
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