Allan Saint-Maximin (now playing for Al-Ahli)

[Holloway]

Before he starts shooting his mouth off, he should have a look at what the majority of French journalists are saying about his chances of getting in the national squad

[TRon]

8 minutes ago, Holloway said:

Before he starts shooting his mouth off, he should have a look at what the majority of French journalists are saying about his chances of getting in the national squad

 

That's because the way he plays is really ineffectual at the top level. It's exciting to see, but how many of his marathon dribbles actually come to anything? More often than not he loses the ball, and even when he does get through the defence, by the time he's finished his stepovers and tricks, the rest of his team mates are marked up. Strikers like the ball in early so they have some space to attack.

[sushimonster85]

1 hour ago, Sean said:

His FBRef report basically confirms he is good at carrying the ball and creating chances, but poor in nearly all other metrics, such as passing (hardly ever attempts a pass), expected assists (surprisingly seeing as he creates so much), pressures (he's in the 1st percentile), it's just a sea of red. 

 

Compared to someone like Zaha or Raphina, he lacks so so much it's actually funny:

 

https://fbref.com/en/players/2b16cb1a/Allan-Saint-Maximin#scout_summary_AM

 

https://fbref.com/en/players/b2bc3b1f/Wilfried-Zaha

 

https://fbref.com/en/players/3423f250/Raphael-Dias-Belloli

 

If you really want to pray for ASM take a look at Hugo Ekitike, who we remain heavily linked with:

 

https://fbref.com/en/players/5b92d896/Hugo-Ekitike

 

I know Ekitike is more of a central forward, but if he it played out wide he could be way more effective than ASM in time. 

[80]

3 hours ago, macphisto said:

It's difficult to know what he's worth? We paid around £25 million for Willock so you would think we'd get more for ASM but then I can't think of any teams who would pay over that amount?

 

Probably the best solution would be to exchange ASM for another player. 

That's not a bad shout if Howe can see value in a player in a similar predicament. A Harry Maguire, say (not literally him, but you get the idea).

 

It is difficult to settle on his value, it's in the eye of the beholder.  He's living in football's uncanny valley. Can he make the crossing? I don't think so, but I hope he does.

[80]

2 hours ago, Jackie Broon said:

Wor Flags are amazing and beyond criticism, but I think that display at the Palace match possibly just served to feed into his ego, which really doesn't need any extra feeding.

Alternatively, it means there are no excuses he can give about lack of support from fans when he's going through a hard time. This one's on him. If a flag display causes him to blow up, then he was always a ticking time bomb.

[Optimistic Nut]

Can see him at Crystal Palace within 2 seasons.

[Miercoles]

He's a great player for a bad team, gives you some threat no matter how the game is going. I don't think he'd fit into a top side, he would really have to go back to basics with his passing, pressing, etc which 1) I don't think he would, and 2) would probably ruin his value as a wildcard x-factor type player anyway.

 

He's a mid-tier luxury player for me, and at the top level if you carry a luxury player their production has to be way better than his.

 

Of course the tricky bit is when you watch us play you can absolutely understand why he never passes, he would do a ton of work, lay the ball off in a good position, and then watch us Bruce it back to the keeper, or fire it 50 yards into the stands. So maybe that would be different in a good team, who knows.

 

He's fine for us right now, but if we get a good offer I have no doubt we can improve the position.

[Ste]

They feel like comments made by a man under pressure and feeling the heat. Not the wisest but if he finishes the season strongly they'll be quickly forgotten about.

 

I like ASM. I think the problem comes partly from Wood wanting aerial service into the box and he's never going to be the type of player to whip in a quality cross so I can see where he's coming from. Swap Wood with Wilson and it pads ASM's stats a bit with assists. He has to look beyond his own personal stats and buy into the thinking from the players that the team comes above the individual. Everybody works in conjunction with each other and those comments give a feeling of ASM being his own personal interest.

 

The team right now is largely set-up to accommodate him but where he is struggling is repeatedly doing the same manoeuvre of cutting inside and dribbling the length of the box before running into trouble. He does look like he's improving in terms of releasing the ball a little bit more often but his passing is wayward and his shooting has been abysmal. 

 

I'd say the majority of fans do want him to succeed here, I really hope he does because I do like him. It's all up to him because there is a lot more ability to come out of him.

[maze]

18 hours ago, 80 said:

I keep hearing talk about big money for him. I imagine we'd do well to get £25m for him, forget £50m as some have said.

I did. It was simply based on rumours in different articles. Realistically, he’s worth around £25m. 

[Armchair Pundit]

I don't get his So Foot comments, he's got better players around him now than he did last season, yet his form's dipped. The only real difference for me would be Wilson not playing so not drawing players off him and giving him that much more space perhaps.

[macphisto]

18 hours ago, 80 said:

That's not a bad shout if Howe can see value in a player in a similar predicament. A Harry Maguire, say (not literally him, but you get the idea).

 

It is difficult to settle on his value, it's in the eye of the beholder.  He's living in football's uncanny valley. Can he make the crossing? I don't think so, but I hope he does.

I love your poetry!

[jackyboy]

I doubt if Crystal Palace would want him. I think it was Viera who got rid of him in France

[buzza]

15 hours ago, maze said:

I did. It was simply based on rumours in different articles. Realistically, he’s worth around £25m. 

If Chris Wood is worth 25M then I cannot beleive that we would take anything under 40-50M for ASM...

[SUPERTOON]

5 minutes ago, buzza said:

If Chris Wood is worth 25M then I cannot beleive that we would take anything under 40-50M for ASM...

Chris wood isn’t worth 25M though, we only paid that because of the desperate situation we where in at the time.

[buzza]

Ok, chris was overvalued.

But if Ivan Toney is going for 40-50 million (maximum: mid table striker) then surely Maxi would have to be sold for the same? Low to mid table "savior"

[STM]

You wouldn't sell Maxi for less than 40m. Fuck knows who would buy him at that price though.

[Ikon]

I’d easily sell him for 35m.

[JumpersForGoalposts]

31 minutes ago, STM said:

You wouldn't sell Maxi for less than 40m. Fuck knows who would buy him at that price though.

He's only worth what he's worth. I'd take 35m, as @Ikon said.

 

Same as Wood. I don't think he's worth a fee, but we were over a barrel in January, so had to pay over the odds.

 

Remember that Carrol cost liverpool 35m because they hastily needed to replace Torres.

 

As @Optimistic Nut said, he's exactly the sort of player who will be inserted into a team of cloggers to try and bring something different. He would stand out like a sore thumb surrounded by quality players.

[Big River]

 

good to see them dealing with this internally.

[STM]

Eddie's got the hose oot.

[mofo]

Honestly think Maxi is fine for us and exactly the level of player we need / can attract. Everything the lad does gets blown out of proportion. 

As soon as he gets the ball some fucker is screaming for him to pass the ball even if there is no one around him and no pass on! If he plays a poor pass the crowd is straight on his back, yet if any other player does it there is nothing said.  I know he is frustrating at times but without a doubt we are a better team when he plays. Against Liverpool he tried to keep it simple and IMO was worried to run at people in case he lost the ball and the crowd got on his back. Go back 50 or so pages and he was the best thing since sliced bread!

[Jack27]

 

nowt to worry about

[Yorkie]

I wouldn't put it past him to come out with something in the vain of which it reads, but even so, whatever. I can't see it being that disruptive even if he was shit-talking. Shock as Maxi totally fancies himself. I think there are bigger issues to do with him than him may be upsetting Chris Wood. 

[Sifu]

He was still implying that the lack of "a Mané" is the reason for his low tally of assists/goals. While he didn't directly criticise the players around them, the sentiment was there.

 

If Howe and the squad are happy to put all of this behind them and move on, then all good.

 

ASM will need to word his answers better going forward in interviews mind.

[MrRaspberryJam]

1 hour ago, Ikon said:

I’d easily sell him for 35m.

 

No man, no!