Allan Saint-Maximin opens up on conversations with Hatem Ben Arfa

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Allan Saint-Maximin completed his move to Newcastle United on Friday.

Newcastle new boy Allan Saint-Maximin has told the Shields Gazette that he spoke to ex-Sunderland loanee Yann M’Vila about signing for the Magpies – and hailed Hatem Ben Arfa.

After initially wanting Saint-Maximin in January, Newcastle have finally struck to sign the Frenchman from Nice, landing him in a permanent move on Friday.

The 22-year-old hasn’t quite lived up to the potential he showed at Saint-Etienne, but is still an exciting player with pace and trickery in the final third.

Saint-Maximin made his Newcastle debut at St James’ Park on Saturday, coming on as a substitute against former club Saint-Etienne, and he helped set up a goal coming off the bench.

Now, Saint-Maximin has commented on his move to Tyneside, and has revealed that he actually spoke to a former Sunderland player before heading to St James’ Park.

Saint-Maximin claims he spoke to midfielder M’Vila about moving to the North East, whilst he also spoke to Ben Arfa and a number of Arsenal players about Newcastle too.

The Frenchman raved about Ben Arfa, suggesting that he called the Newcastle fans ‘amazing’, telling him to immediately go and join Newcastle if he could.

Saint-Maximin added that he loves Ben Arfa for his dribbling, and Newcastle will be hoping that he can have a similar impact at St James’ Park this season.

“There were a lot of players, like M’Vila, though he wasn’t at Newcastle, he was in Sunderland,” said Saint-Maximin. “He spoke to me. Hatem spoke to me. I talked with a lot of players. They said to me it’s a great club, a great city and the supporters are great. Everything is great. This is why I came. I said ‘I know I want to be there’. Everybody told me (to join). Some players in Arsenal said to me ‘it’s a great stadium with a lot of people’.”

“He said to me ‘it’s amazing – the supporters and atmosphere are amazing’. He told me to come,” he added on Ben Arfa. “He said to me a lot of good things. For dribbling, I love Hatem so much. I love a lot of players, but, for me, it’s Ben Arfa. He scored a lot of good goals. He had an injury one time, and maybe this was a bit difficult for him, but everybody knows he’s a great player,” he added.