Eddie Howe drops big Newcastle United hint on Allan Saint-Maximin ahead of West Ham clash

Eddie Howe will make at least one change to his Newcastle United starting XI against West Ham.
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Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe is ready to call upon Allan Saint-Maximin in Bruno Guimaraes’ absence.

The Magpies progressed into the final of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday with a 3-1 aggregate win over Southampton. However, the only downside to the evening was Guimaraes’ red card, which has forced the Brazilian to serve a three-match ban.

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With United light on central midfielders following Jonjo Shelvey’s deadline day exit to Nottingham Forest, Howe is likely to move Joelinton from his recent left-forward position and back into the three-man midfield.

Saint-Maximin is the man largely tipped to fill that void with Anthony Gordon, another option, only just arriving from Premier League rivals Everton for £45million.

An opportunity for Saint-Maximin

Asked about the Frenchman, Howe said: “Allan’s been very good. He’s understood, I think, the difficult situation that I’ve found myself in where I’ve kept a very consistent team because the team has performed at a very high level and results have been, in the main, very good.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Newcastle coach Graeme Jones celebrates with Allan Saint-Maximin after the Carabao Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg match between Newcastle United and Southampton at St James’ Park on January 31, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Newcastle coach Graeme Jones celebrates with Allan Saint-Maximin after the Carabao Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg match between Newcastle United and Southampton at St James’ Park on January 31, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Newcastle coach Graeme Jones celebrates with Allan Saint-Maximin after the Carabao Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg match between Newcastle United and Southampton at St James’ Park on January 31, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

“I think he’s understood but also been very keen to show his talent and his worth. This is potentially, with Bruno suspended, an opportunity for Allan amongst other players.

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“But I’ll back his quality, I love him as a footballer and as a person. He’s a huge player for us and he’ll be massive between now and the end of the season.”

The 25-year-old hasn’t started a league game since August when he scored a stunning last-gasp equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Saint-Maximin has been restricted by a hamstring injury, though has finally looked sharper in recent weeks after encouraging cameos in back-to-back wins against Southampton.

Overcoming his hamstring injury

There are 18 league games remaining, and Howe believes the French winger has an important role to play.

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Howe said: “It’s (second half of season) going to be huge for him personally, and huge for us that we get him in the best possible place to play. Physically, I think he’s in a good place now, probably the best he’s been since his injury.

“It was a difficult injury for him because he didn’t just injure his hamstring once, he injured it twice. So that really did delay his comeback. I do think he’s looked really good from the bench in recent weeks, and hopefully that has helped his confidence levels so that he can play a different role for us.

“There’s competition for places, and that’s what we need in every position because you know that one bad game or a couple of bad games can leave you out of the team and give someone an opportunity to take your place. Hopefully, that will help us in what will be a congested second half of the season.”

Adapting to having Saint-Maximin in the starting line-up

A caveat to having Saint-Maximin’s quality in the starting XI is the team loses a little bit defensively. Miguel Almiron and Joelinton have been relentless for tracking back and protecting full backs Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn - but Howe doesn’t expect that from the former Nice star.

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“I think you have to accept players for their strengths,” said Howe. “There’ll be no better player at doing what Allan does well in the league in my opinion. You can never force a player to play like someone else.

“Allan is unique, but we just need to make sure we see his strengths, and that comes down to the team giving him the ball in the right areas, and then Allan executing what he needs to do.

“Yes, our wide men do work extremely hard, and that’s no doubt contributed to our very good defensive record. Not just our wide men, but our midfield as well. But the team needs to function well to win, and it’s never just down to one player.”