Newcastle United star, Allan Saint-Maximin said to The Chronicle, he wants to be ‘on the pitch’, helping the likes of teammate, Miguel Almiron.
In the same report, he made it clear that he feels ‘at home’ on Tyneside. There were talks that the club could entertain a swap deal, plus cash for Juventus man, Moise Kean, according to Juve Dipendenza.
The winger has already suffered a couple of injury setbacks this season, meaning he’s only played seven times for the Magpies, this season.
Saint-Maximin opened up about previous struggles on and off the pitch and raved about his Paraguayan teammate.
He said: “Yeah, it was very difficult [struggles on and off the pitch]. We have seen this before.
“Miggy is a great example of this. He has always been a great player, he is an incredible guy but a great player. When you play and touch the ball less and the team doesn’t play well, it’s much more difficult to shine. It is more difficult to show your quality.
“You see people saying Miggy is a new player. It’s not a new player, he has always been a great player. To see him in this situation gives me even more.
“I want to be on the pitch with him, to help him, make assists and have the best season possible for him. He deserves that. It’s the type of mentality every player should have. I am sure every player will help us to be where we need to be.”
TIF’s view on Saint-Maximin’s comments…
We believe that it’s clear the Frenchman is hungry for the Premier League to return. Newcastle’s first league match is against Leicester Cty on Boxing Day, with a Carabao Cup game against Bournemouth before that.
Despite making only seven league appearances and four starts, Saint-Maximin has still managed to make an impact for the Magpies this season. He has four goal contributions in the Premier League already.
Where he excels is with the ball at his feet, he’s one of the best dribbles across Europe in the last year. The 25-year-old is in the top 1% for dribbles completed (FBref)
It’s been an excellent campaign for Newcastle so far this season, they sit third in the league and boast the joint-best defence record, conceding 11 Premier League goals alongside league leaders, Arsenal.
With Saint-Maximin seemingly raring to go, Newcastle will have high hopes for the second half of the season. The likes of Almrion (8 league goals) and Callum Wilson (6 league goals) have been deadly in front of goal for the Magpies. Supporters will hope that this will continue and finish the campaign in a Champions League position.