Wolves are interested in signing a new winger this summer and one face you could arrive at Molineux is Allan-Saint Maximin.
What's the word?
That is according to journalist Josh Holland who raved about the Frenchman and suggested that he was actually trying to impress Bruno Lage's men when they faced either.
Holland was speaking to GIVEMESPORT and said: "Yeah, of course. I think they’ve got to [sign more wingers]. Looking at their squad, you’ve got Neto, Podence, Trincao and Hwang. But would you say that all four of them have had a telling effect in this season? I wouldn’t say so.
“Saint-Maximin, I think we all know, is such a good player to watch. He gave Wolves so many problems [last month]. It was more like a trial game for him; it had the feeling that he was trying to impress Wolves.”
This comes after 90min reported that Newcastle were open to selling, a piece of news that has put Wolves on red alert. A fee of around £50m is reportedly the asking price.
Podence upgrade
Described as a "jewel" by David Ginola, Saint-Maximin would indeed prove to be an upgrade on Daniel Podence.
For starters, the 25-year-old's nine goal contributions throughout the Premier League in the form of five goals and four assists better that of the Portuguese winger, Daniel Podence, who has managed just five returns in 25 matches for the Old Gold in the league this season - scoring twice and assisting just three times.
Whilst Saint-Maximin, "who gave Wolves so many problems" in the words of Holland during last month's game versus the Magpies, could certainly improve his end product.
Podence, however, has a long way to go, with this being his second consecutive season in which he has managed just five attacking contributions.
The signing of the Frenchman would enable the Old Gold to be more direct in their attacking play, with Saint-Maximin's match average of 8.17 progressive carries making him a dangerous threat who is capable of dragging his team up into the opponent's final third within the blink of an eye.
Whilst Podence creates opportunities through his passing, Saint-Maximin is less predictable and is willing to drive at the opposition's defence. That is the stark difference between the two.
It is reported that Wolves will look to sign Saint-Maximin in place of Adama Traore, who is touted to leave this summer.
Though, if Lage could keep hold of both, he would have two of the best carriers of the ball in his side, with Adama ranking first for this metric in the Premier League and completing an average of 7.0 successful dribbles per 90, with Saint-Maximin in second place with a match average of 4.9 successful dribbles per 90.
If this was the case, Wolves would possess one of the most lethal and direct attacks in world football.
Though, Lage would need to knock some consistency and nurture some end product out of the pair.