After Newcastle secured a crucial 1-0 victory away to Southampton on the weekend, manager Steve Bruce was full of praise for one player in particular – Allan Saint-Maximin.
Allan Saint-Maximin is Key to Newcastle’s Survival
Bruce impressed
“I said when he walked in he will excite people,” Bruce said of the French winger. “His natural ability is scary. He has a bit to learn too, and if he does, if he sorts the other bits out, we have a hell of a player on our hands. He is always a threat, wants to get past you and that is a dying art. He has that natural ability in abundance.”
Bruce could not contain his excitement and it is easy to see why. Saint-Maximin was a threat all afternoon, causing Southampton defenders problems with his pace, dribbling and clever movement. There was a superb run down the left in the first half which saw him breeze past Sofiane Boufal and then tee up Dwight Gayle in the middle, who spurned a glorious chance.
Saint-Maximin’s pressure on Boufal in the penalty area also resulted in the Moroccan handling the ball and giving away a spot-kick, but Matt Richie effort was saved by Alex McCarthy. In all, Saint-Maximin had the most dribbles (7) of any player in the match, while only Jonjo Shelvey made more key passes.
It was in the 80th minute, however, when Saint-Maximin produced the decisive moment, nicking the ball off Yan Valery before poking the ball past McCarthy in front of the delirious Newcastle faithful. The initial pressure to steal the ball was smart and the finish was instinctive. It all emphasised what a threat the 22-year-old is, even when opposition teams think they are comfortable in posession.
Ironically, the winner at St. Mary’s was atypical of Saint-Maximin this season. It was only his second Premier League goal from 31 shots, with eleven of those coming from inside the penalty area. It was a similar story at his previous club, Nice, for whom he scored just six times from 75 shots in Ligue 1 last campaign. At one stage, he had racked up 46 shots without scoring for both clubs before his first Newcastle goal in December.
As Bruce said, there are areas of Saint-Maximin’s game to improve on and finishing is certainly one of them. On several occasions during his time at the club he has been profligate but you would be forgiven for thinking that his goalscoring numbers will only go up.
Ability on the ball
Where Saint-Maximin has been particularly dangerous, however, is with his dribbling. The pace and athleticism are there to see but his skill on the ball has given Newcastle a proper outlet in attack and caused many an opposition team problems. The Frenchman ranks fourth for total dribbles in the Premier League this season (127), with 63% of those proving successful – of players who have completed more than 100 dribbles, only Wolves’ Adama Traore and Emiliano Buendia of Norwich have a better success rate.
“He is actually playing now like Traore at Wolves was playing a couple of seasons ago,” said former Premier striker and current pundit Dion Dublin. “You never knew what he was going to do in the final third but now he has been coached, he is doing things better, scoring goals and making better decisions. If Brucey gets hold of this young lad and really coaches them well he could be an absolute nightmare for defenders.”
Bruce’s preference for building a side focused on defence has brought certain benefits. Only Crystal Palace and Brighton have conceded fewer goals than Newcastle in the league this season, while his side also have more clean sheets (9) than Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Wolves and Everton. Newcastle have become a difficult side to break down and that is never a bad thing in a fight to avoid relegation.
What such a system can also do, however, is stifle attacking play. Newcastle have scored the joint-fewest goals (25) in the Premier League this season and the stats show why. Only Crystal Palace have created fewer big chances in 2019/20. Newcastle also rank 16th for average shots per game (10.3) and bottom for average percent possession (40.8).
As a result, Saint-Maximin’s importance to a pragmatic Newcastle side under Bruce can not be understated. Despite often being in scenarios when attacking support is few and far between, he is able to drive his side into promising positions going forward with his ability to go past players and find space. He has completed 80 take-ons in the Premier League this season, more than any other U-23 player in Europe’s top five leagues.
Saint-Maximin is still raw and has plenty to improve on, especially in front of goal. Yet there are plenty of signs that Newcastle have a real player in their midst. It will only be a matter of time before bigger teams come calling but the club can at least appreciate him here and now. He is already proving the key man in their fight for Premier League survival.
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