Highlighting Saint-Maximin’s impact at Newcastle United
By Durim Halimi
How on earth did Newcastle United land one of Europe’s most exciting wingers? Allan Saint-Maximin has already had a significant impact on the team since joining this summer.
Newcastle United’s front office has made many mistakes in the past, but they were spot on this summer when they convinced Allan Saint-Maximin to bring his talent to Tyneside for the next six years. Pundits kept repeating the fact that the French winger is an exciting young prospect, and his recent performances for the Magpies reflect the hype that surrounds him.
The 22-year-old midfielder missed a few games at the start of the season with a hamstring injury, but he is now fully recovered and has started the last five games for Newcastle United. So far, not a single defensive unit has been able to contain Saint-Maximin.
Ever since Steve Bruce gave the young Frenchman the nod to start on the wing opposite of Miguel Almiron, the Magpies’ record consists of three victories, one draw and one defeat, which translates to 10 points from a possible 15. Saint-Maximin looked unstoppable in every match, especially in the club’s recent victories.
Has Saint-Maximin scored a goal yet? No, but he has rocked the crossbar, bagged an assist against Bournemouth, set up the winning goal against Manchester United. and created 13 chances over the course of multiple games. The fan favorite should have at least three goals to his name, two of which should have came against West Ham, but he is heading down the right path.
Everyone in the league knows his name now and he attracts the attention of multiple defenders every time he receives the ball out wide. This extra attention on one player has opened lanes for other players pressing forward, especially the wing-backs, and it’s a major reason why the Toon have started scoring more goals on a regular basis.
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The Magpies are enjoying a good run of form because of the collective effort and urgency they are displaying, but Saint-Maximin’s ability to influence the flow and momentum in games is unmatched on the roster. Newcastle United have some winnable games against bottom-half clubs over the next couple of weeks and these are the type of games that Saint-Maximin can dominate for 90 minutes. Keep a close eye on the Frenchman as he could start filling the stat sheet against weaker opponents.