The interest from both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in Allan Saint-Maximin is real - or at least the Frenchman has been looked at by senior talent spotters from both clubs in the last few months.
Spurs took a close look at Saint-Maximin last season during the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at St James' Park when the forward turned defenders inside out and put on a bit of a show in front of the Geordie crowd and Chelsea have been monitoring him for some time. Saint-Maximin has been carrying a knock in pre-season but is now getting back in the groove as Burnley discovered on Saturday in a training game.
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Saint-Maximin now heads into his fourth season at St James' Park, and in two of them he has been player of the year with Chronicle Live, as voted for by supporters. Last season I wrote early in the campaign that it would be the contributions of the Frenchman that would probably keep Newcastle in the division, and after five strikes and five assists he more than played his part in that 11th place finish.
The coming season on Tyneside is certainly one in which Saint-Maximin can absolutely be the main man at St James' Park. It's easy to forget that the former Nice star is still only 25 and a couple of seasons away from his peak.
As things stand there is nothing concrete from either Spurs or the Blues and Eddie Howe wants Saint-Maximin to be one of his key players for the season. The prospect of him being part of a front three in a 4-3-3 formation is still an exciting one and everybody knows what he can do on his day.
Saint-Maximin could forge a deadly combination with Callum Wilson and that's before you start toying with ideas of a right-sided forward joining the party before the window closes. But even if Newcastle didn't manage another forward signing, Ryan Fraser or Miguel Almiron could easily settle down and be part of prolific front three, not least given Fraser and Wilson's historical statistics together.
Saint-Maximin could easily have pushed for a move and got it in summer 2021 and arguably after his first season too a year before. But he wanted to stay and even challenged the club to finish in the top 10 or fight for one of the cups.
Speaking to Chronicle Live earlier this year, he said: "I have a really good relationship with the fans - if I didn't have this relationship with the Newcastle supporters I'd not be here now.
"So the supporters are really important to me, I love them, I love the club. "The supporters help me play better. I will never forget that."
The lure of London is a big one for European players but here Saint-Maximin can be the main man if he wants to. At Spurs or Chelsea, players can often simply become part of the squad and end up in a rotation system.
Saint-Maximin is hardly pushing for a move this summer and if anything looks delighted to be where he is. Under Howe that top 10 dream and a cup run is being spoken about within the camp. Under a new look United he can achieve his dreams at St James' Park.
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