Allan Saint Maximin’s time at Saint James’ Park comes to an end as the winger is set for a move to Saudi Arabian Side Al Ahli for 30M Pounds. Eddie Howe in a recent interview explained that it is due to the strict Financial Fair Play regulations that the Magpies have to sell the French International. Harvey Barnes from Leicester City is set to Replace ASM and fans and pundits believe this could be a blessing in disguise for Eddie Howe’s Men.
Harvey Barnes is now at training ground & plans being made to join squad in US. Fee is £38m. Allan Saint-Maximin move to Al-Ahli is being finalised, but not done just yet. Fee around £30m. #nufchttps://t.co/OAJY6Jj86y
Allan Saint Maximin is a joy to watch the Frenchman, is full of tricks and flair, has ridiculous pace and can and often has sent defenders for a hotdog but pundits and fans believe that Harvey Barnes is quite the upgrade due to the output that The Englishman provides.
Last season, Saint Maximin only managed to produce a single goal and 5 Assists in 31 Appearances for Newcastle whereas, Harvey Barnes managed to produce 13 Goals and 3 Assists in a struggling Leicester side that eventually got relegated.
While Saint Maximin may generate more eyes and was one of the brightest players in a dark time for Newcastle, going for Harvey Barnes is quite justified. Henry Winter, chief Football writer for Timessport took to twitter to give his thoughts on the deal.
Allan Saint-Maximin is a joy to watch, a pure entertainer, but must be difficult for strikers not knowing exactly when the ball will be released. Harvey Barnes is an upgrade in end product. #NUFC
Another reason Eddie Howe and Newcastle would be willing to let the Frenchman go is because of the recurring injury issues the player has been facing. The winger missed 13 games last season due to a series of Hamstring and Muscle injuries.
The Frenchman only started 12 out of the 25 games he was available for in the Premier League. Harvey Barnes on the other hand, did not miss a single game last season due to injury as he started in 32 out of the 34 games he featured in.
As a matter of fact, the English winger’s last injury came in the 20/21 campaign when he missed 16 games due to a knee burst.
Allan Saint Maximin may dazzle you with rainbow flicks, stepovers or reverse elasticos and be the true representation of flair and the Joga Bonito style of play that we all know and love but fans and pundits believe that Barnes is the more sensible choice due to his higher output in the final third along with his consistency in performance, something which the Frenchman lacks as of recent.
Saint Maximin is set to have his medical this week, he will always be one of the players that ” The streets will never Forget”.
