While his impact goes beyond the numbers, this Newcastle United star is turning in some unimpressive statistics.
Newcastle United have scored nine goals this season. Six of those goals have been scored by Callum Wilson. Jeff Hendrick and Jacob Murphy have each scored one, the same amount as one of the players expected to carry a large portion of the club’s production in the attack.
Allan Saint-Maximin, who signed a new contract earlier this season, only has one goal and one assist this season. Both of those came in a win over Burnley. Outside of missing the club’s draw vs. Spurs with an ankle injury, he’s started all seven Premier League matches. He’s created just two big chances and has six total shots.
Last season, he finished with four goals and five assists in the league. That was a decent introduction to the Premier League for the explosive French winger, but even that production didn’t match his visual impact on a match.
Obviously, his dribbling and assertiveness are massive boosts to the Newcastle attack. But, if his positive play rarely ends with the ball in the net for Newcastle United, how big of an impact can you have?
Of course, the club’s playing style under Bruce is not conducive to a high-scoring offense. It’s not reasonable to expect Saint-Maximin to be amongst the top goalscorers or assist men in the league while playing this style, but it’s definitely fair to hold him to a higher standard than his limited production thus far.
With Wilson expected to miss some upcoming matches, now is the time for Saint-Maximin to live up to his skill and potential and create goals and assists for Newcastle United.