The Newcastle United dressing room should be putting 'pressure' on Allan Saint-Maximin to prove he is the 'number one' and live up to his potential. That is the view of Magpies legend Warren Barton, who believes the French forward has a 'taste' of the adoration he could receive as part of the club's ambitious long-term rebuild.
Saint-Maximin has proven to be one of Newcastle's most important players since his arrival in the summer of 2019, and is currently enjoying his best goalscoring campaign in black-and-white. However, the 'unpredictable' attacker's recent injury and illness has contributed to several indifferent displays in his latest outings.
Eddie Howe has dismissed transfer speculation which suggested United would be open to selling Saint-Maximin, with Aston Villa and Wolves among the clubs linked. The Magpies head coach described the forward as an 'incredible talent', and a player who he views as integral to the team's long-term future.
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Barton insists there is no doubt the club and supporters would love to see Saint-Maximin consistently deliver on his ability and potential. However, the former United skipper believes it comes down to the 25-year-old himself, and whether he can prove he should be the main man at St James' Park in the coming seasons.
Barton told ChronicleLive: "For me, it's down to him. We love him, we want him to be the player we all think he can be.
"It's down to him now to be that player, he has no excuses. Before, it was a case of we don't have this or that.
"If it was me in the changing room, I would be putting a bit of pressure on him to say 'you do it now'. You wanted to be the number one, we've got the players around you, you do it. It's up to you now what you want to be.
"On his day, he's as good as anyone. I would say it's down to him, and you've got until the end of the season to be the player we want you to be.
"You can be one of this new generation of players the fans are going to adore. He's had a little taste of it, does he want more?
"Does he want to play at the club for the next eight or nine years, are you going to be a regular at this football club? I would switch it around to him. If he doesn't do it, we might have to go in a different direction.
"That's the business we are in. We definitely don't want to do it, but there's a lot of people who would want to be the main man at Newcastle. You're in the driving seat, it's up to you now."
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