Allan Saint-Maximin’s future at Newcastle United looks increasingly uncertain as Saudi interest in the winger intensifies.
The 26-year-old was left out of Newcastle’s travelling party as they took on Rangers on Tuesday night after a bid was received to take him to the Saudi Pro League.
The identity of the bidding club is reported to be Al-Ahli, one of four clubs recently bought by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The move is therefore likely to face intense scrutiny given PIF are Newcastle’s majority owners.
Newcastle rate Saint-Maximin close to the £40m mark and that sort of fee does not seem unreasonable for a player of his age, ability and experience.
But rivals will be paying attention to a possible deal that would loosen the financial fair play shackles and give Newcastle much greater freedom to recruit this summer. The first deal being lined up is a £40m move for Leicester winger Harvey Barnes, which sources told i is “progressing”.
Barnes didn’t play any part in Leicester’s friendly at Peterborough over the weekend, supposedly through injury, and it would be no surprise if he was not included in the Foxes squad that travels to Thailand for the next part of their pre-season that begins on Thursday.
If Saint-Maximin leaves it will benefit Newcastle more than just the immediate fee recouped. Eddie Howe admitted over the weekend that the club’s budget was limited and they would have to be “creative” to make further additions, and a sale of Saint-Maximin is one way to do that.
With the way amortisation comes into consideration in FFP calculations, a £40m sale of Saint-Maximin would allow the club to make further signings.
So far there have not been any transactions between Newcastle and the Saudi Pro League, and Howe said any deals would have to be in the best interests of the Magpies.
Already this summer their major new sponsorship deal with Sela, the Saudi events company, has passed the Premier League’s fair market value test. And the club would be confident any further dealings would pass.
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