Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy insists that Allan Saint-Maximin is not playing for an elite Premier League club because of his inconsistency.
The winger has been a truly exciting presence for the Magpies in recent months, often tearing apart opposition defences with his pace and trickery.
But Saint-Maximin has also struggled to produce a consistent output when it comes to goals and assists, scoring three goals and laying on four assists in the league last season.
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The campaign prior, the £27m-rated Frenchman scored three and laid on five assists.
Indeed, Saint-Maximin was also forced to battle injury issues last season, going down with both a calf problem and a groin problem.
He has been linked with a potential move to Everton this summer in a deal that could cost around £50m but Kennedy does not think the winger is consistent enough to make the move to a top club in the league.
Of course, he has hailed just how exciting the forward can be, but he does not believe he turns it on often enough to be considered for a move to a club in the top four.
He said: “If Allan Saint-Maximin has his dips of form, which he very regularly does, he’s a scintillating, absolutely incredible, unplayable, top end Premier League player when he’s on his game and when he wants to but there’s a reason why he isn’t playing there.
“There’s lots of reasons why he isn’t playing for a top team at the top end of the Premier League, consistency being a key one and probably professionalism as well.”