Newcastle United could offload Allan Saint-Maximin this summer in order to raise some much-needed funds for the transfer window.

What's the story?

Football Insider has claimed that a Newcastle source revealed that Bruce 'may be forced to raise his own transfer funds by selling top stars, with the most likely to be Saint-Maximin'.

The report added: 'The mercurial winger, 24, is one of the Magpies’ most valuable assets and is under contract until 2026. However, Bruce knows his sale could significantly boost his budget heading into the summer window.'

Fans would be furious

Make no mistake about it, in a period which has been one of the most disappointing of Newcastle's Premier League era, Saint-Maximin has been one of the rare bright sparks to inspire the club and its supporters.

While a record of seven goals and 12 assists in 56 games is hardly anything to write home about, his personality and willingness to be direct and take the game on has been a real breath of fresh air at St James' Park. This season once again saw him rank highly in the dribbling categories, with only Wolves' Adama Traore managing more than his 3.8 per game in the entire division.

It's no surprise that so many Newcastle fans have gone on record to publicly hail the exciting Frenchman on numerous occasions, and it's why his earlier comments about his ambition would have been deeply worrying.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the Frenchman said: "I have to be honest, sometimes you have to think about yourself. The most important thing is the team, of course, but you have to think sometimes about your future and that’s why I say I don’t want to fight for one more year to be safe.

"So I hope we try to do everything to have more ambition and to win a trophy and fight for the first place, it can be great."

The news that the Magpies could sell their French star to fund other new signings will surely have many fans of the Tyneside club absolutely furious - while money might be tight, you don't progress as a team by selling your star players, and there's absolutely no guarantee that Newcastle would spend the money wisely in any way either.

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This latest transfer update from Darsley Park is one which could have the Newcastle crowd riled up.

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