Allan Saint-Maximin’s situation at Newcastle United is bizarre.
Just weeks before he penned a new deal with the club, he spoke of how he wanted them to match his ambition of playing in Europe after a successful (on an individual basis) first season on Tyneside.
There have previously been suggestions of a falling out between the Frenchman and Steve Bruce, though he did make a point of celebrating with the Toon boss following his goal against Burnley earlier this season. Since, however, the likes of Alan Shearer have criticised him for his performance and The Athletic reported of how Bruce was frustrated with some of his efforts in pre-season.
According to the Daily Mail, the 23-year-old was likely to be dropped even prior to the injury that has ruled him out of tonight’s game with Crystal Palace as a result of recent performances.
Will Allan Saint-Maximin be a Newcastle player this time next year?
Yes
No
There does appear to be things going on behind the scenes at St. James’ Park. Indeed, Jamaal Lascelles spoke of how he felt the side should have attacked more after taking an early lead against Manchester United while Miguel Almiron’s agent revealed his client would like to play in a more enterprising outfit.
Clearly, if Saint-Maximin’s application has waned, then he is partly to blame. Still, when issues of a similar kind arise amongst a few players, it does hint to a structural problem within the management.
Labelling teams as lucky is perhaps too simplistic when it comes to analysis. However, journalists such as George Caulkin have written on how the Magpies do tend to rely on it and the fact they had the lowest expected points of any side in the division last season does suggest at least an element of it.
Sadly for Bruce, that luck appears to be turning.
Even more worryingly, there has been a major issue in Newcastle’s players not passing to the maverick Frenchman all season. Read about it here.