Allan Saint-Maximin defends controversial Newcastle United comments 'taken out of context'
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In an interview with French publication So Foot, Saint-Maximin implied that he would have more assists if Newcastle had better attacking players to convert the chances he created.
His quote, translated from French, read: "Those who have played with me know very well that in terms of pure quality.
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Hide Ad"I have nothing to envy to Sadio Mane, or to all those great players who play in top clubs.
"The day I have a player capable of finishing actions, I will make seasons with 10-15 assists, and I will change dimensions in people's heads.”
United head coach Eddie Howe confirmed Saint-Maximin’s concern with the way in which his interview had been perceived and a squad meeting was planned on Friday to avoid any potential ‘fallout’.
Howe said: "Unity has been our strength, it’s vitally important that we keep that.”
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Hide AdAnd Saint-Maximin took to Twitter to put his comments into context as he wrote: “The interview I did with So Foot has been taken out of context and shortened on Twitter. I never said anything negative about my teammates, I simply said as any Newcastle fan would that I was looking forward to having an even better team so that we could progress collectively and that, as a result, I could also progress individually.”


Saint-Maximin, who has contributed to more goals than any Newcastle player this season with five goals and four assists, will not be fined by the club for his comments.