According to the Daily Mail, Allan Saint-Maximin is set to sign a new contract with Newcastle United on improved terms.
Clearly, this is good news and, frankly, it’s hard to think of many recent examples where a player has been rewarded this early on in his Newcastle career but it doesn’t take away from the fact that interest in the player will surely grow.
Indeed, now he has a striker in Callum Wilson to finish some of the chances he creates (according to Sofa Score, he carved out 8 big chances last season, the most in the team) we can reasonably expect his assists tally to grow. Given his performance against Burnley before the international break, we may be able to expect more goals too. Interestingly enough, last season was his lowest return in terms of shots per game (1.8, via WhoScored) since the 2016/17 campaign, so if Wilson can continue creating space for him, more shots could follow and potentially more goals.
So, if those two things happen and there are certainly early signs they will, transfer interest will surely emerge. A joy to watch as it is, more end product added to his game would surely see some of the bigger clubs on the continent start to take notice, particularly if the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic start to somewhat subside.
Will Allan Saint-Maximin be a Newcastle player this time next year?
Yes
No
As Mark Douglas pointed out, the new agreement would only see him add another year to his deal. Clearly, that would strengthen Newcastle’s hand when it comes to any potential negotiation and perhaps that’s the view we should take. Again, its somewhat cynical, but with the Frenchman wanting to play in Europe soon, it’s not hard to imagine that’s what those behind this decision are thinking too.