OPINION
If there is one thing that you can guarantee with Allan Saint-Maximin, it is that he will get fans off their feet at least a couple of times in each game he plays for Newcastle United.
That doesn’t hide the fact that the Frenchman has not yet found an end product at St James’ Park, and Steve Bruce will surely want that to change as soon as possible.
The last thing all Magpies’ fans will want is another case similar to Miguel Almiron, who had failed to be involved in a single goal despite arriving in January, something that ended when he claimed an assist in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City.
Saint-Maximin is clearly the one forward available to Bruce who is causing the most problems for opposition defences, completing 4.3 dribbles per game according to WhoScored – nearly four times more than any other Newcastle player.
Danny Mills has compared the 22-year-old to many Newcastle icons of the past such as David Ginola, who scored many memorable goals for the Magpies.
“When you look at Newcastle United wingers of the past – David Ginola, Laurent Robert, Temuri Ketsbaia – they could be incredible, 9/10 one week and 3/10 the next,” he told Football Insider.
“You were never quite sure what you were going to get with these players and I think Saint-Maximin is very, very similar to that. He can clearly be outstanding at times, but then you look at it the other way round at times and say where’s he gone, what’s happening?
“It’s just one of those where on his day, he’s got pace, he’s got power, he’s got tricks, he’s got skills and he can be all over the place. He’s just got to make sure he does it on a consistent basis. We’ve seen already he can cause anybody all sorts of problems.”
That is a bold claim to make by the Sky Sports pundit, and Saint-Maximin is miles away from earning that sort of recognition in the North East.
Christian Atsu has already been involved in three goals this season, despite only starting four Premier League games, and the Ghanaian winger has not yet received any recognition similar to the Frenchman.
Saint-Maximin has had a good start to life in the Premier League but he needs to do much more, and start adding goals to his game to even start being compared to the likes of Ginola.
