Newcastle United have signed attacker Allan Saint-Maximin for a fee of £16.5 million after the Frenchman passed his medical with the club earlier today.
As per the BBC, the versatile attacker has signed a six-year deal with the Magpies.
The 22-year-old joined Nice from fellow Ligue 1 club AS Monaco back in 2017, and was a regular with the Eaglets.
He scored 6 goals and managed 5 assists in 36 appearances across all competitions last season.
What will Saint-Maximin add to the Newcastle team?
The right-footed forward is a versatile player who primarily features as a right-winger, and possesses the ability to play multiple roles in the attacking third.
Last season, the youngster showed his true flexible nature, performing his duties as a wing-back in a 3-4-2-1 system under manager Patrick Vieira.
Saint-Maximin is a decent passer of the ball, and managed an average pass success of 76% with 1 long ball and 1.7 key passes per game, which highlights his ability to often create goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates.
The Frenchman’s vast array of skills and an exuberant style of play mean he is difficult to cope in 1v1 situations, however, this has also been a cause of concern for the youngster.
He was dispossessed 2.4 times in a game on an average last season, and also had 3.6 bad touches per 90 minutes, which often resulted in turnovers.
The 22-year-old is an excellent dribbler of the ball, however, and likes to cut in from the wide areas to have a pop on goal.
Saint-Maximin managed 4.2 dribbles, second highest in Ligue 1 only behind Hatem Ben Arfa, and 2.2 shots per game across all competitions last season which speaks volumes about his confidence in the final third.
However, a player with a similar ilk to that of Wilfried Zaha has already conjured up footballing action across two of the top five leagues.
Despite his attitude problems off the pitch, Saint-Maximin has this unique personality to get the crowd off their seats, and it could be a major boost to the club who need a bit of spark in their attack following the departure of Ayoze Perez.
Saint-Maximin has the potential, and if he can get his act together in the coming season, he could take the league by storm.
Stat Courtesy: Transfermarkt, Whoscored
