Tottenham Hotspur have "mounting interest" in Allan Saint-Maximin...

What's the word?

That's according to The Northern Echo's chief sports writer Scott Wilson, who claims that Newcastle United are bracing themselves for formal inquiries over the French winger, with Spurs and Chelsea said to be very keen.

"TRANSFER LATEST: #NUFC could find themselves with a decision to make over Allan Saint-Maximin this summer - amid mounting interest from both Chelsea and Spurs..." he tweeted alongside an accompanying article.

Despite the captures of Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge and Richarlison at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it appears as if the 25-year-old gem is a wanted man.

It remains to be seen exactly how much it would take to lure Saint-Maximin away from the northeast, with CIES Football Observatory currently valuing him at €40m (£34m). The Athletic believe it would take in excess of £40m, however.

Spurs' next Ginola

This would certainly be a shock and surprising move from the Lilywhites, but that's exactly how sporting director Fabio Paratici likes to operate, and the Magpies trickster would bring plenty of exciting flair to north London.

Given his ability, Saint-Maximin has earned some comparisons to that of ex-Tottenham star David Ginola, who came to Spurs from St James' Park in the 1990s.

The French dynamo now has more goals for Newcastle than his 55-year-old fellow countryman and has certainly lived up to the billing as one of their most exhilarating entertainers in the Premier League era.

[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-and-much-more-2" title="Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!"]

"Can he be a David Ginola? He can be anything he wants to be, let's be brutally honest, he can be anything he wants to be," Saint-Maximin's former manager Steve Bruce once claimed, adding: "I hope in time that little bit of maturity, which will surely come one day... and yet, you've got to still have that maverick in him which makes him the player that he is."

Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has dubbed the 25-year-old "breathtaking" at times.

Saint-Maximin topped the charts for dribbles per game in the English top flight last season by quite some margin. He averaged 4.3 successful attempts, 1.9 more than Dwight McNeil and Wilfried Zaha, which goes to show just how electric he can be down the wing.

Also dubbed "unplayable" and an "incredible talent", it's clear that the Newcastle gem would add a new dimension to Antonio Conte's team, even if there's not an obvious fit for him in the current setup.

Paratici could well find Ginola 2.0 in a swoop for Saint-Maximin this summer.

AND in other news, Paratici in talks to seal "Lampard-type" £43m gem, could be bye-bye "lazy" Spurs flop...