Allan Saint-Maximim has admitted he would love Newcastle to sign Marcus Thuram from Borussia Monchengladbach after the latter impressed at the World Cup.
The 25-year-old played an important role for France as they reached the final, with Thuram assisting Kylian Mbappe's second goal in a 3-3 draw after extra-time. However, Les Bleus fell to a 4-2 penalty shootout defeat as Argentina lifted the accolade for the third time in their history.
There has been a lot of talk surrounding Thuram's future after the tournament with Newcastle linked with a move for the talented forward. Reports have suggested that the Magpies are plotting a £10million bid for Thuram, whose contract is set to run out next summer, while Inter Milan are also keen on the attacker.
But Saint-Maximim, who played with Thuram in the France youth set-up, has urged the Magpies to try and sign him for a cut-price in the January transfer window. The striker has netted an impeccable 13 goals in 17 appearances for Monchengladbach this season, including double figures in the Bundesliga.
Saint-Maximin told The Gazette with a smirk when asked about Thuram : "He is a great player and I hope we have a chance to take him here. I was so happy for him [to play at the World Cup]."
"Yeah, I will be honest, I have chatted with him," Saint-Maximim added. "For me, he’s a great player. I’ve known this guy a long time. I’ve been playing football with him when I was very young. I know all his family. He has great parents. He’s an incredible guy."
Newcastle are in the market for another attacker with record signing Alexander Isak struggling with injuries while Callum Wilson has also found regular minutes hard to come by in recent years. However, Thuram can also play on the left-hand side which bolsters his ability to play anywhere across the front line.
Meanwhile, Saint-Maximim's claim came after the Magpies booked their place in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth at St James' Park. Adam Smith's own-goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and Eddie Howe was buzzing to see his side progress.
He said: "I've been in the quarter-final a couple of times with Bournemouth and never got past the quarter-final stage. They are special games. Now you’re going into the business end of the competition, you’re a couple of big wins away from hopefully an incredible experience.
"But you can only take it game by game. I don’t know who we’re going to play yet, but we’ll look forward to the next round when it comes.
"I don’t think we’re looking too far ahead. It’s small steps for us. We’re into the next round, but now the Premier League takes priority and we’ll look forward to the Leicester game, which will be a really tough challenge for us.
"We’ll look at the next round when it comes round in our calendar. We’ll look to see the draw, but we’re delighted to still be in the competition."
