PIF-owned Newcastle want to sell Allan Saint-Maximin to PIF-owned Al Ahli to fund transfer

Newcastle United are reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli over the transfer of Allan Saint-Maximin.

Since arriving from Nice back in 2019, Saint-Maximin has become of Newcastle’s most important players.

His tricky style of play has endeared him to the St.James’ Park crowd.

However, the Frenchman endured a tough 22/23 season which was badly hampered by multiple injury problems. In total, Saint-Maximin scored one and assisted five in 31 appearances across all competitions.

As the summer transfer window hots up, Saint-Maximin is now linked with a move away from the North East.

According to talkSPORT, Newcastle wants to sell the winger to Saudi Professional League side Al Ahli in order to fund a move for Leicester City man Harvey Barnes.

The report stated that talks between Al Ahli and Saint Maximin’s team are at a very early stage.

It has been reported that Magpies boss Eddie Howe is a big fan of the £35 million rated winger but is likely to face competition from fellow Premier League side West Ham United, who have money to spend after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal.

Getty

After a brilliant 22/23 season resulted in Champions League qualification, Howe is hoping to improve his squad ahead of the new campaign.

So far, Newcastle have only managed to sign Sandro Tonali from AC Milan.

Speaking about the window, Howe said to The Chronicle: “Yeah I think at different times there has been frustrations.

“There have been difficult days, because obviously you want the end result, you want the best squad you can get.”

Newcastle kicked off their pre-season with a win after sealing a 3-2 victory against Gateshead on Saturday.

Elliot Anderson, Jay Turner-Cooke and Saint Maximin were on the scoresheet for the Magpies.

Howe’s men will kick off their 23/24 Premier League campaign against Unai Emery’s Aston Villa on 12 August.