Why Newcastle must keep Saint-Maximin sweet for Premier League survival

Reports on Tuesday suggested Newcastle boss Steve Bruce had had a falling out with summer signing Allan Saint-Maximin. It was hardly the ideal build up to their eventual 3-2 FA Cup win at West Brom, a game in which Saint-Maximin assisted in prior to his second half sub as Newcastle attempted to throw away a 3-0 lead. 

The rumours of a bust up were quickly denied by Bruce. "All of the nonsense we have to read about is total nonsense," he said with reports of a fallout coming in the wake of the 0-0 draw with Burnley. Saint-Maximin started the stalemate on the bench and come on for the final 12 minutes before playing 80 minutes in the Midlands on Tuesday night, with Bruce stating he kept the Frenchman on the bench against the Clarets because he complained of soreness in his leg and, having twice sustained hamstring injuries already this season, the Newcastle boss was treating the youngster with care. 

A player of Saint-Maximin's quality relies on speed to burst past opponents with ease, so to have suffered two muscle injuries following his arrival from Nice meant Bruce was unwilling to take a risk on the 22-year-old, which, when looking at the larger picture, is the right approach to take. 

Two spells on the sidelines has restricted Saint-Maximin to just 14 league starts in his debut campaign at St. James' Park and considering he boasts the ability to get bums off seats when he breaks forward at speed, his absence has been a blow for both player and club. Indeed, of the eight league wins Newcastle have collected this season, seven have come in the 14 matches he has started, with the sole exception coming in their 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace in December. 

Of course, one of those wins was Newcastle's 1-0 victory at Tottenham, a match Saint-Maximin was forced off in after just 17 minutes, but with goals scored per league game rising from 0.64 to 1.07 per game and goals conceded per match dropping from 1.86 to 1.07 when Saint-Maximin starts, the numbers add weight to the tricky winger's importance to the side, despite arriving from France less than a year ago. 

Saint-Maximin may have just one goal and one assist to his name from his 17 Premier League outings, but it hasn't been for want of trying with returns of 30 shots and 21 key passes both ranking third for all Newcastle players this season. Meanwhile, his return of 4.3 successful dribbles per game is behind only Adama Traore (5.2) and Wilfried Zaha (4.6) of all Premier League players this season to reinforce a statistically calculated strength of 'dribbling'. 

Without Saint-Maximin flying down the flanks, then Newcastle would be in a far more perilous position then they currently find themselves in, with the Magpies still five points above the relegation zone on the back of their 0-0 draw with Burnley. Interestingly, though, is that the teams of the two players above Saint-Maximin in the dribbling metric have each been linked with a move for the Newcastle man. 

Both Wolves and Crystal Palace have seen their dribble machines Traore and Zaha, respectively, emerge as rumoured targets for a host of Premier League sides, with the pair demanding anything upwards of £70m for the pair in order to be convinced to sell their star wingers. 

Newcastle would likely be in a similar position should potential suitors come knocking for Saint-Maximin, even when taking into account his injury issues this season. Not only have his performances on the pitch not gone unnoticed, his work away from the game has helped establish the Frenchman as not only a Newcastle fan favourite, but endeared the winger to lovers of the game. 

Shortly after moving to Newcastle, Saint-Maximin was urged by fans to back the NUFC Fans' Foodbank, which provides food and toiletries to those in need in the local community, and he duly obliged. Everyone associated with the foodbank was thrilled with a player, who himself grew up in the poorer suberbs of Paris, as he spent the afternoon speaking with, and listening to, those there. 

It's his work away from football that has contributed towards his rise as one of the most popular players at Newcastle, and evidently one the club, this season at least, can ill-afford to be without. So with Bruce downplaying any fallout, supporters can breathe a sigh of relief over Saint-Maximin's immediate future at St. James' Park with the former Nice man vital in their bid to consolidate their Premier League spot. 

However, if he continues to impress in a Newcastle attack that has scored the fewest Premier League goals (24) this season, then the league's big hitters will begin to cast watchful glances towards St. James' Park with Saint-Maximin set for a vital role as Newcastle seek to stave off relegation.