Allan Saint-Maximin has declared that he and Alexander Isak are 'ready to start' Newcastle United's Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg against Southampton - and the pair have even been doing extra sessions to prove it.
Saint-Maximin and Isak have been building up their minutes following their respective injury lay-offs and the pair both looked sharp when they came off the bench in the 1-0 win in the first-leg at St Mary's on Tuesday night. It was Isak who set up Joelinton's winner with a superb turn and cross while Southampton defender Duje Caleta-Car was sent off late on after he had to resort to cynically taking Saint-Maximin out.
Saint-Maximin and Isak have yet to start a game together, at a time when Newcastle have a settled starting line-up, but they will play a huge role in the second half of the campaign after being carefully managed since their spell on the sidelines. Rather than rushing the forwards back, Howe has been keen to ensure that Saint-Maximin is able to repeatedly sprint a high intensity while the Newcastle boss has also wanted Isak to have more training time with his team-mates, which has not always been possible in recent weeks because of the number of games the Magpies have played.
