Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici is a big admirer of Allan Saint-Maximin.
What's the talk?
That's according to Alasdair Gold, with the journalist revealing in a recent Q&A for football.london that, following a number of reports earlier in the summer linking Tottenham with a £40m move for the Newcastle United winger, Paratici is indeed a big fan of the 25-year-old.
In response to a supporter asking whether or not there is any truth to Spurs' links with the Frenchman, Gold said: "I think Allan Saint-Maximin be a terrific addition but he's looking pretty important for Newcastle right now. Fabio Paratici really likes him."
"Unplayable"
Considering just how impressive Saint-Maximin has been for Newcastle so far this season - particularly against Manchester City last weekend - in addition to the fact that Antonio Conte is reported to be looking for a replacement for the outbound Bryan Gil, it is easy to see why Paratici could be interested in a deal to bring the 25-year-old to north London in the coming days.
Indeed, the £34m-rated talent was in "unplayable" form - in the words of Alan Shearer - in the 3-3 draw with Pep Guardiola's side on Sunday afternoon, with the winger completing five of his six attempted dribbles, making four key passes, taking three shots at goal, completing both of his two attempted crosses, creating two big chances for his teammates and registering two assists.
[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-paratici-conte-levy-gossip-more" title="Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and so much more!"]
These metrics saw the £38k-per-week forward earn a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 8.5 against the reigning Premier League champions, ranking the former France U21 international as the best player to feature at St. James' Park on Sunday.
And, while the player who Alex Bruce dubbed both a "huge asset" and an "unbelievable talent" is often criticised for his inconsistency, Saint-Maximin has proven that, at least in his progression of the ball and shot-creating actions, he can maintain an extremely impressive level of performance - with FBref ranking the winger in the top 1% of European attackers for dribbles completed and the top 26% for shot-creating actions over the last 365 days.
As such, considering just how progressive the 25-year-old evidently is, the prospect of adding the Frenchman to the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski in the Spurs attack - who have already scored three goals and registered two assists over Tottenham's three Premier League fixtures this season - will be an incredibly tantalising one for both supporters and Conte alike.
Indeed, whichever combination of these four aforementioned players the 52-year-old manager deploys would appear to be as close to an unplayable attacking lineup as possible - not to mention one that undoubtedly has the potential to help Spurs finally end their 14-year trophy drought.