According to French outlet Le Nice Matin, Newcastle made a bid to sign Nice winger Allan Saint-Maximin – however the club did not respond, despite finding our offer ‘tempting’.
The report states that Nice boss Patrick Viera had no intention of selling their star winger, despite both ourselves and Sevilla showing interest – with Liverpool also linked with a move prior to signing Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri.
The France U-21 international managed 9 goals and 5 assists in Ligue 1 last season and has started this season well, scoring twice in Nice’s opening five games.
Interestingly, The Chronicle confirmed today that Benitez is still on the lookout for a ‘pacy winger’ ahead of the January transfer window – and Saint-Maximin is exactly that.
That being said, it’s more than likely that he’ll have to shop in the ‘bargain basement’ once again, which probably explains why nothing came of our interest in the highly-rated Nice winger.
Here’s him in action: