Newcastle have agreed a deal with Al-Ahli to sell Allan Saint-Maximin for a fee of around €35million with the French winger set for a medical.
Saint-Maximin will become the latest name in a long list of Premier League stars to make the jump to Saudi Arabia this summer.
The 26-year-old was a fan favourite at Newcastle, but given the imminent signing of Harvey Barnes, now seemed like the best time to move the winger one.
According to Ben Jacobs, a move for Saint-Maximin is now expected to go through after the two clubs agreed on a deal.
“Deal now pretty much done,” Jacobs confirmed on Twitter. “Allan Saint-Maximin has a medical booked. Fee is around €35m.”
Eddie Howe has admitted that he will be sad to see Saint-Maximin leave, but now was the best time for him to move on.
“I don’t think Maxi necessarily wants to leave, but he may feel it’s the right time for him to move,” the Newcastle manager told reporters.
“It’s difficult for me to speak for him, but he hasn’t asked to leave. There’s been no issue between him and any of us coaches. We all love him.
“If he does leave, we’d lose him with a very heavy heart. He’s someone we love working with, he’s a difference-maker, we’ve really had a strong working relationship, and it’ll be sad if he leaves.”
While Newcastle will be sad to see SaNewcastle agree €35m with medical booked as next Eddie Howe signing is ‘edging closer’int-Maximin leave, they could be boosted by a new arrival sooner rather than later.
According to Simon Stone, Newcastle are ‘edging closer’ in their attempts to sign Southampton defender Tino Livramento.
Howe is said to be a huge admirer of the 20-year-old and the deal looks to be progressing positively as things stand.
