Former England international Paul Robinson has heaped praise on Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin for his performance against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The 22-year-old produced an electric display as the Magpies battled back to earn a deserved 2-1 victory over Eddie Howe’s men, and Sky Sports pundit Robinson was very impressed by the youngster.
“Second week running, yeah,” he told Football Insider. “I thought he was outstanding against West Ham and he was very good this week, the problem Newcastle have had is that Joelinton has been detached from the players behind him, such as [Miguel] Almiron and Saint-Maximin.
“Saint-Maximin has been Newcastle’s best player all season for me and he was again at the weekend as I thought he was key to what they did. Saint-Maximin is a real crowd-pleaser.”
OPINION
Robinson’s claim that Saint-Maximin has been Newcastle’s best player ‘all season’ is an interesting one considering he’s only really come onto the scene for the Magpies in the last month or so. However, it’s no coincidence that the past month has seen the team pick up form in quite dramatic fashion. What was the criticism of the Magpies in the early part of the campaign? That they were creatively sterile and that they weren’t getting enough support to Joelinton at the head of the attack. However, that is no longer the case. It may be the defenders scoring the goals, but it’s the likes of Saint-Maximin and Jonjo Shelvey creating them. The statistics from Saturday’s game show how dominant the Frenchman was. As per WhoScored.com, the former Nice star had two shots, produced three key passes and embarked on four successful dribbles. Yes, he inadvertently blocked a shot which could have proved to be Almiron’s long-awaited first goal for the club, but that was about the only thing he got wrong all game. Truly, he has been a revelation for Newcastle recently.
