Tottenham Hotspur could line up a shock move for Allan Saint-Maximin this summer transfer window...
What's the word?
According to football.london, sporting director Fabio Paratici is weighing up a swoop for the Newcastle United winger as he is thought to be a big admirer of the Frenchman.
With Steven Bergwijn attracting interest from Eredivisie giants Ajax, the 25-year-old could be a replacement to bolster Antonio Conte's attacking options, alongside the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski.
[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-latest-news-updates-transfer-rumours-gossip-spurs-thfc-conte-paratici" title= "Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!"]
It remains to be seen what sort of fee Saint-Maximin would command, if the Magpies would even be open to selling one of Eddie Howe's star players.
CIES Football Observatory currently value him in the region of €40m (£34m), whilst the wide man is believed to be earning around £93k-per-week at St James' Park.
Shades of Ginola
Given the arrival of Ivan Perisic already this summer and the vast options available to Conte right now, a move for Saint-Maximin certainly comes as a surprise but there's no doubt that he would add something special to Spurs.
Plying his trade in Newcastle, the flair player has earned plenty of comparisons to former Lilywhites star David Ginola, who also played for the Magpies in the Premier League.
"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," once claimed ex-manager Steve Bruce.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports duo Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have been impressed by the 25-year-old's exploits.
"To see his speed, his movement, it’s absolutely breathtaking. We were defenders in the Premier League and played against lots of good players," said Neville. "But every team now has three or four players who are unpredictable and brilliant, he’s breathtaking."
Whilst the former Liverpool defender once said during commentary: “It reminds me of that goal George Best scored all those years ago. This man (Saint-Maximin) is a special player for this team."
After a five-goal and five-assist campaign, only winter arrival Kieran Tripper, another ex-Spurs man, managed a better average WhoScored rating than Saint-Maximin.
He also led the English top-flight for dribbles per game (4.3) and that tenacious ability also puts him amongst the top 1% across Europe, only reinforcing his trickery and threat in the final third.
It's no wonder he has also been lauded as "unplayable" and as an "incredible talent" in recent times.
On the above evidence, Spurs could well find their next Ginola-like talent in the Magpies gem.
He may not be a priority and could certainly cost a sizeable amount but either way, he'd be an exciting addition to Conte's squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.