Newcastle United had one standout figure in their squad last season on whom they relied to make things happen from an attacking point of view - Allan Saint-Maximin.

With five goals and five assists to his name, no other Toon player could match the number of goal contributions for the team that the French winger accrued.

In fact, the attacker also topped the list for number of shots taken (64), shots on target (26), shot-creating actions (114) and successful dribbles (140) at the Tyneside club. This highlights just how important the 25-year-old is for Eddie Howe's side in an attacking sense.

With the summer transfer window still open, the next few weeks could give Howe the chance to bring in a player who could not only take some of the attacking workload away from Saint-Maximin, but also create a devilish partnership with him at the same time.

One player who has been mentioned with a move to St James' Park and who could fit this bill is Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio.

Despite predominantly playing on the left wing throughout his career, the Spaniard has also been known to play as an attacking midfielder and on the right flank, the sort of versatility which could make it easy for Howe to get him into the same team as Saint-Maximin.

With 49 goals and 24 assists to his name in 235 appearances for Real Madrid, this shows just how similar he is to the current Toon attacker in terms of not only being able to score goals but set them up for his team-mates as well.

To further highlight his attacking talent, in his 137 La Liga outings since the start of the 2017/18 season, the 26-year-old has racked up 309 shot-creating actions, 215 shots at goal, 126 successful dribbles and 270 crosses.

Hailed as a "magical" player by Casemiro, Asensio would surely be an excellent addition to Newcastle's squad and give lots of opposition defenders nightmares, especially playing alongside Saint-Maximin.

If an opportunity to sign the £117k-per-week winger arises before the transfer window ends, the Magpies should not be reluctant in trying to secure a deal for him.

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