Allan Saint-Maximin can be key man in Newcastle United frontline amid Chelsea and Tottenham interest

The interest from both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in Allan Saint-Maximin is real - or at least the Frenchman has been looked at by senior talent spotters from both clubs in the last few months.

Spurs took a close look at Saint-Maximin last season during the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at St James' Park when the forward turned defenders inside out and put on a bit of a show in front of the Geordie crowd and Chelsea have been monitoring him for some time. Saint-Maximin has been carrying a knock in pre-season but is now getting back in the groove as Burnley discovered on Saturday in a training game.

Saint-Maximin now heads into his fourth season at St James' Park, and in two of them he has been player of the year with Chronicle Live, as voted for by supporters. Last season I wrote early in the campaign that it would be the contributions of the Frenchman that would probably keep Newcastle in the division, and after five strikes and five assists he more than played his part in that 11th place finish.

The coming season on Tyneside is certainly one in which Saint-Maximin can absolutely be the main man at St James' Park. It's easy to forget that the former Nice star is still only 25 and a couple of seasons away from his peak.

As things stand there is nothing concrete from either Spurs or the Blues and Eddie Howe wants Saint-Maximin to be one of his key players for the season. The prospect of him being part of a front three in a 4-3-3 formation is still an exciting one and everybody knows what he can do on his day.

Saint-Maximin could forge a deadly combination with Callum Wilson and that's before you start toying with ideas of a right-sided forward joining the party before the window closes. But even if Newcastle didn't