da cassino： Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin may be tempted by a move to Everton because he could ‘push for Europe’ at Goodison Park.
da spicy bet： That’s according to former Sheffield United and Leeds goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, speaking to Football Insider.
The lowdown
The Mirror reported earlier in July that Everton would swoop for Saint-Maximin as a replacement for Richarlison if the Brazilian was lured to Real Madrid.
They claimed Newcastle would demand £60million to part with a player who scored three goals and provided four assists last season.
That would represent a huge profit on the £16.5million they initially paid to bring him in from OGC Nice in 2019.
Everton, who finished 10th in last season’s Premier League, are now managed by former Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti.
The latest
Kenny expressed a concern that Newcastle would not be able to match Saint-Maximin’s ambitions.
And he predicted that Benitez’s prior relationship with Newcastle would give Everton an upper hand in any battle for his signature.
“Newcastle are a massive club but for me, they look like they are a team that’s just struggling to stay up every year,” he said.
“I’m sure Saint-Maximin wants to be pushing for Europe with a team like Everton. What a player he is.
“If Everton are interested then, with Benitez’s link with Newcastle, I’m sure it could be an option for him,” he continued.
“I’m sure they’ll be looking to go one step further and challenge again for Europe this season.”
The verdict
Look no further than the game against Burnley, when he came off the bench to engineer a season-defining turnaround by scoring one and making another, for an illustration of Saint-Maximin’s worth to Newcastle.
They must fight off any interest until the fate of their proposed takeover is clear. If it fails, it would probably worth be selling and reinvesting that huge sum of money.
But if it succeeds, Newcastle should be assembling a Europe-chasing squad of their own built around Saint-Maximin, who’s still only 24 years old.
In other news, John Barnes has issued this huge claim on Newcastle’s takeover.