Chelsea are reportedly plotting a swoop for Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin next summer.
Newcastle United have endured a poor start to the new Premier League season, managing to pick up only three points from their first six games. They are still looking for their first league win of the campaign having drawn three and lost as many to date, which has seen the pressure mount on manager Steve Bruce, despite the lack of transfer backing he has received from the controversial ownership.
According to Italian news outlet Calciomercato, Chelsea are looking to take advantage of the Magpies’ situation and lure Allan Saint-Maximin away to Stamford Bridge in 2022, but face competition for the player’s signature from Liverpool and Everton.
Allan Saint-Maximin, 24, has been one of the rare bright sparks for Steve Bruce’s Newcastle side so far this term, with the winger netting twice and supplying three assists. The Frenchman looks a notch above his teammates, playing with a certain degree of confidence and swagger at the moment.
The 24-year-old wide man has already made it clear last season that he wants to be challenging for titles and trophies, which certainly puts Newcastle in grave danger of losing him should their current situation under Bruce persist.
Allan Saint-Maximin to Chelsea—Does a move to Stamford Bridge make sense?
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel addressed his need for a natural No.9 in the summer with the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan. Lukaku, 28, has netted four goals in seven games, exciting the Stamford Bridge faithful with his pace, power and link-ups with the likes of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Timo Werner in the final third.
As far as the Blues’ attacking options are concerned, Tuchel has some top talents at his disposal. In Havertz, Lukaku, Mount, Werner, Pulisic, Ziyech and Hudson-Odoi, Tuchel has the privilege to make the best use of his options up front throughout the season.
To put things into perspective, completing a deal for Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin won’t make a lot of sense for the European champions, given that they already have some quality options at the top end of the pitch.
Essentially, a left-winger, Saint-Maximin would find it really difficult to break into Chelsea’s starting XI as Tuchel plays with wing-backs—usually Marcos Alonso and Reece James— who provide width to the current Chelsea team. The Frenchman is versatile enough to lead the attack, but with Lukaku and Werner vying for a spot in the starting XI, he might not even get a look in from Tuchel if a move to Stamford Bridge were to materialise next summer.
Allan Saint-Maximin is a flashy, unpredictable and pacey winger who is now at the perfect age to make the step up from Newcastle to a bigger club. However, it is fair to say that he doesn’t really fit the bill at Chelsea.
Hard to justify but…
Given the current set-up and the current options at the disposal of Tuchel, a move for Allan Saint-Maximin seems hard to justify from where things stand.
But there have been some murmurs about the lack of spark in Chelsea’s attacking play for some time now and if such struggles magnify over the course of the season and a couple of players get disgruntled due to a lack of playing time, a scenario might arise where such a mercurial player might well have space in the Chelsea squad going forward.
But a number of things have to fall in place or actually, fall out of place for Tuchel for the Blues to make such a move next summer.