A Sky Sports journalist has weighed in on the potential for Tottenham to sign a Newcastle United forward in 2023, with Eddie Howe surprisingly being backed to sell the player.
Antonio Conte is enduring a tough spell as Tottenham manager right now. His side have won just three out of their last eight matches in all competitions.
Their last outing was a north London derby defeat to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on Sunday. The Gunners eased to a 2-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a shocking Hugo Lloris own goal and a 36th-minute Martin Odegaard strike.
Since the loss, Conte has been criticised for his team selection. He went with Ryan Sessegnon as the left wing-back to deal with Bukayo Saka, rather than Ivan Perisic.
The change did not work though, as Sessegnon failed to deal with Saka, allowing the Arsenal winger to play a big role in both of his team’s goals.
Spurs pundit John Wenham has called the decision to start Sessegnon over Perisic ‘insane’.
Pressure is mounting on Conte to turn the results around. If he cannot do that though, then Spurs chairman Daniel Levy may sack him and bring in a replacement.
He is looking at Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel, Joachim Low and Luis Enrique as potential successors.
Spurs tipped to go after Newcastle forward
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Conte’s future, Levy still wants to improve the senior squad to give them the best chance of success this campaign.
And one player Spurs reportedly have in mind is Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin. As per Alasdair Gold, football.london’s Spurs correspondent, the north London side could move for Saint-Maximin in the future.
Director of football Fabio Paratici is thought to be ‘a big fan’ of the Magpies ace.
Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has now provided a brief update on the situation, during an interview with GiveMeSport. He said: “If Saint-Maximin goes – and I think there’s a possibility of that – and they manage to get some money for him, I think they could go out and buy someone.”
It sounds like Howe is open to Saint-Maximin’s potential departure, should Spurs make a bid for his services.
This would be a surprising stance, given how impressive the Frenchman has been for Newcastle. He always puts on exciting displays and was arguably Newcastle’s most important player before the big-money takeover in October 2021.
Allan Saint-Maximin has fallen down Howe pecking order
However, things have changed this season. Saint-Maximin has struggled with injuries, and this has allowed Miguel Almiron and Joelinton to impress Howe on the wings.
As such, there is no longer a guarantee Saint-Maximin will start every Newcastle game. In turn, Spurs could pounce on the situation by launching a January bid.
When first discussing Spurs’ admiration for Saint-Maximin, Gold did urge caution about a move. As the 25-year-old has a Newcastle contract which runs until summer 2026, he would not come cheap. Newcastle would want to make a profit on the £16.5million they originally paid for him in 2019.
Spurs raiding Newcastle for Saint-Maximin would be a stunning move. It would be a real signal of intent from Levy as it would weaken a direct top-four rival.
The only concern Spurs fans may have about the move is where Saint-Maximin actually fits in. He would struggle to get into the starting eleven ahead of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min or Dejan Kulusevski in attack. Plus, Conte also has Richarlison and Lucas Moura in his squad.
