‘I am surprised’: Owen Hargreaves makes Allan Saint-Maximin claim at Newcastle United

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Owen Hargreaves has lauded Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin as a ‘confident’ player who you simply ‘love watching play’.

The 26-year-old started Newcastle United’s 2-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday and provided the assist for the opening goal that was scored by Joe Willock.

That was Allan Saint-Maximin’s third Premier League start on the bounce and Owen Hargreaves questioned why the unpredictable winger doesn’t play more under Eddie Howe.

Whilst the Magpies surge towards a possible Champions League finish, their winger has had an up-and-down season, which included several weeks on the sidelines with a muscle issue.

During that period, his team only suffered one defeat, their stoppage-time loss to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool at Anfield.

But after being one of the first names on the teamsheet, Saint-Maximin now has a number of teammates that have pushed ahead of him in that regard, with Hargreaves speaking highly about the player, as he told Premier League Productions (02/04/23 at 5:25 pm).

“I love him,” said Hargreaves. “I think anybody, as a fan, you would love watching him play because he is so positive and so direct.

“I am surprised he doesn’t always play. As a defender, I played as a fullback sometimes, you would hate to play against someone like this.

“He is quick. He can go both ways and is quite confident. He is cheeky, in the fact that he is trying to torment you.”

CAN NEWCASTLE SECURE A TOP-FOUR FINISH?

What will be encouraging for Eddie Howe is that his team have the points on the board and the games in hand. They are third in the table on 50 points, level with fourth-placed Tottenham, who have played two games extra.

But eight points separate the Magpies and eighth-placed Liverpool, who probably have an outside chance of returning to the elite next term – Wayne Rooney shared his verdict on who he thinks will win that race.

Either way, this is in Newcastle’s hands, especially given that they are yet to play the likes of Tottenham and Brentford, who are in and around them.