Former Newcastle United defender Olivier Bernard has spoken openly about Allan Saint-Maximin.
Allan Saint-Maximin has played 14 times this season but is yet to make a huge impact on the stats sheet – scoring and assisting just once in all of his Newcastle United league outings.
When Speaking on BBC’s Newcastle United Podcast via Chronicle Live, the former Magpie stated: “He’s a player that is very confident about his ability, very composed on the ball, technically very good.” the 40-year-old said.
“For him, I just think it’s a question of willingness and attitude on the pitch because sometimes he can look a bit lazy.”
A very honest assessment of his fellow Frenchman. Saint-Maximin is starting to find his goalscoring form, netting two in his last 10 matches – but one of them was against Oxford United FC in the FA Cup.
The former defender did also state that the 22-year-old could go on to become “one of the better wingers” in the Premier League, which is a pretty high bar to set for someone who is yet to make a huge impact in the league.
The Frenchman has played most of his football in France, with his best run of form to date coming with his former club OGC Nice.
A club where the winger played 74 matches, scoring 11 times and registering 14 assists, still not amazing – but better than what the Magpies fans are currently seeing.
Surprisingly, Saint-Maximin is yet to play for the senior French national side despite playing for them at U21s level, but perhaps if he can pick up his league form this is something he can finally achieve.
Coming from the French Ligue 1 straight into the Premier League will of course mean the 22-year-old needs time to adjust, the physicality of the league alone will be something the Frenchman isn’t used to.
So it’s going to be very interesting to see how well the French winger is playing after one or two more seasons, where any excuses of not being settled in will be gone.
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