Last week was a big one in the transfer window for Newcastle United. Allan Saint-Maximin is departing the club after four seasons in the North East. He is set to join Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia for a fee of £30m + guaranteed bonuses, as exclusively revealed by NUFC Blog. That has been the first domino that has led to Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes finally moving to Tyneside, signing for £38m.
There has been a lot of debate on social media about both moves. It is difficult not to separate the two, as they play in the same position and one’s arrival has been facilitated by the other’s departure. Although those that know more about FFP suggest the fee brought in by Saint-Maximin will lead to even more signings, so it isn’t quite one in, one out.
Fortunately for us, we haven’t had a painful departure in a while. The last time was probably Rafael Benitez’s exit as manager. During his time at St James’ Park, Allan Saint-Maximin was a popular figure, who built a great rapport with the supporters. His style of play was exciting to watch. The Frenchman is a player that is worth the ticket fee alone, but he was also frustrating in equal measure. It was hoped that he would kick on after the takeover, but he never looked like a natural fit in Eddie Howe’s system.
Last season, he made 25 appearances, but 13 of those came as a substitute. A combination of injuries, other players performing better and his lack of defensive work rate were the reason for that. Saint-Maximin never managed to secure a regular role under Howe and he was always going to be the asset most likely to be sold this summer.
It makes sense business wise, but it is sad to see him leave. There will be a feeling that we never saw the best of the Frenchman on Tyneside and that is a shame. That said, he’ll be remembered fondly and his performances under Steve Bruce were key in facilitating the takeover. There will always be a reason to be grateful to the winger.
Moving on to his ‘replacement’ Harvey Barnes, it is a move that makes a lot of sense. Since his breakthrough at Leicester City, he has been regularly providing goals and assists. End product is what Saint-Maximin lacked, but Barnes has it in spades.
In the last four Premier League seasons, Barnes has contributed an impressive 34 goals and 23 assists, which came at a rate of a goal involvement every 155.6 minutes. That is better than one every other game and it will be that level of productivity that Howe wants in his attack. In fact, he will hope that his new signing’s end product can increase even more with more coaching.
We looked at Barnes over the previous four seasons, as this was the period that Saint-Maximin played for us. The Frenchman contributed 12 goals and 18 assists. Our new left winger managed to get almost double the goal contributions than the man he is replacing. The Frenchman averaged a goal involvement every 245.8 minutes.
The durability of Barnes is also worth mentioning. Saint-Maximin only managed to reach 2000 Premier League minutes once out of four seasons. There were always injury issues that plagued his time here. During his four seasons, he averaged 1843 minutes of game time. Meanwhile, Barnes’ average over the same period was 2218 minutes. He only failed to reach 2000 once and, on that occasion, he fell short by 50 minutes. Availability is the best ability and that will have been one of the factors in this decision.
It is too basic to suggest one is better than the other. They are different types of player. Saint-Maximin is more creative and a better dribbler of the football. If you are a team that plays on transition and need a player that can carry the ball to create opportunities (Bruce’s Newcastle), then this wouldn’t be as positive a move. However, for Howe’s team that play intricate patterns and try to create space by moving the ball, Barnes is a better stylistic fit.
The England international is an inside forward rather than a winger. Barnes will look to attack his full back by making diagonal runs inside them. He is best when cutting inside and shooting at goal. Rather than being a winger that can run and beat a full-back, he relies on his movement. A trademark Barnes goal is playing a one two inside a full back before finishing across the keeper. It is a move we have seen often with Miguel Almiron on the right. We could look to create a similar pattern on the right. Barnes will be perfect for it.
During the last four seasons, Barnes has scored 34 times from 30.52 expected goals (xG). That would suggest that he is a good finisher who will add value to the chances he gets over time.
There are some valid concerns about Barnes’ defensive work rate. He is a willing presser, but he is ineffective at winning the ball back. He averaged just 0.86 tackles and 0.27 interceptions per ninety minutes last season. This is an area that should improve significantly under Eddie Howe. Saint-Maximin had similar weaknesses, but there should be more willingness from Barnes to work on this. Like most in our team, Barnes is effective and willing aerially. He averaged 0.96 successful aerial duels per ninety minutes, which places him in the 85th percentile among wingers.
Saint-Maximin’s exit will be rightly met with sadness. He was a good player for the club and crucial in a dark period, but this move is the right one for us. Barnes suits Howe’s team more. He is more reliable in terms of fitness and more consistent in output. This is a good double move by the club.
