'Ridiculous' - Ex-BBC man shocked by what he's now heard from Newcastle

Noel Whelan has been left shocked by what he has now heard coming from Newcastle United regarding Allan Saint-Maximin.

As per The Daily Mail, the St James’ Park club are now willing to entertain offers of around £50m for the 25-year-old once the season ends.

It has also been reported that the Magpies could look at Moussa Diaby as a potential replacement for the Frenchman, along with Leandro Trossard and Brennan Johnson.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan – who regularly used to feature as a pundit for the BBC – has been left shocked by the news that the Newcastle board could sell Saint-Maximin for £50m, claiming that it would be a ‘ridiculous’ piece of business.

He said: “Look, I mean you can accept it. But if you’re going to go out there and get somebody with the same quality and love from the fans, firstly, they’ve got to earn that love, which Saint-Maximin has done.

“Secondly, he has put in the performances and been a talisman for a number of years now. £50million is not going to buy you a player of that quality, I don’t believe.

“Then you’d have the backlash from the fans. I’m very sure that they won’t see this as a positive. This is not what they expect after the consortium’s takeover of Newcastle.

“They thought they’d be spending £50million, not bringing in £50million by selling one of their best players.

“Saint-Maximin, for me, is one of these players that’s just unsellable right now to Newcastle, on many fronts. Shirt sales, fanbase and what he brings out there on the field.

“I’m sorry, but I just feel that’d be ridiculous business by Newcastle’s board.”

As Whelan says, the Newcastle board could scoop a healthy £50m for Saint-Maximin in the summer, but the Frenchman would be very hard to replace.

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