Javier Manquillo has told Sky Sports that Newcastle United have a ‘great’ player at the club in Allan Saint-Maximin, as the French forward is among the top Premier League players.
Manquillo has been singing Saint-Maximin’s praises, and feels the 24-year-old is making an impact in training on his own performances. The Spaniard is relishing his chances to match up against the winger as it brings the best out of him.
Manquillo has enjoyed a return to the Newcastle line-up since the international break, with Steve Bruce benching Jacob Murphy. The right-back has started the Toon’s last two Premier League games and combined with Saint-Maximin to score at Manchester United.
Saint-Maximin fed the ball through to the overlapping Manquillo to pull Newcastle level at Old Trafford. Drilling home into the far corner of David de Gea’s net, before the Red Devils stormed to a 4-1 win.
Manquillo sings Saint-Maximin praises
Saint-Maximin added to his record by scoring Newcastle’s equaliser as the Toon drew with Leeds last Friday. The £72k-a-week forward now has two goals and two assists in five top-flight games ahead of facing Watford on Saturday.
Manquillo believes Saint-Maximin can create moments of magic as the Newcastle star is among the best attacking players around. The Magpies would not have any points in the Premier League this season without the £16.5m former Nice forward’s input.
“Allan is a great player,” Manquillo said. “He’s an important player for us and the club. He provides us, as a group, with much more besides his ability on the pitch. He’s a key figure, brings something a little bit different and can produce something out of nowhere.
“It’s great training against him as however good he is, it brings the best out of you. You want to be learning from playing against the best players and, certainly, Allan falls into this category.”
Saint-Maximin importance on the up and up
Saint-Maximin’s importance to Newcastle is as clear as day in how their league standing would look without the Frenchman’s input. But his significance to Bruce’s side is on the up in how he is getting the most from his teammates.
Manquillo has certainly appeared to benefit from the work he has done at Darsley Park with Saint-Maximin this season. The Spaniard constantly caused Manchester United issues, and the Toon were weaker without him at right-back in the closing stages.
He ran himself into the ground against Leeds last week, as well, and produced several key tackles. Murphy took over the position at the end of last season as he offered Bruce a more consistent option. Manquillo has seemingly responded well, and – going by his comments – Saint-Maximin has been a big reason why he has become Newcastle’s right-back again.
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