Talented but temperamental - which Saint will turn up for Newcastle next? Allan Saint-Maximin is the Magpies' sole outlet for offensive flair but his inconsistency means fans never know when he will produce his lethal best

In performing so well against Manchester City, Allan Saint-Maximin exposed a lingering weakness at Newcastle United, and one that risks compromising the brilliant work of Eddie Howe. In short, they need more like him, and more from him like that.

For when it comes to attacking stardust, the sort that blinds the Premier League champions, there remains a reliance on Saint-Maximin, a player whose unpredictability extends to not knowing when he will produce his very best.

It should be said, such dependency has been diluted under Howe, whose side proved last season they can win even when their most dangerous player has an off day. The team Howe inherited was low on fitness, motivation and tactical awareness — now, they are pushing back the boundaries of all three on a weekly basis.

Allan Saint-Maximin was in fine form for Newcastle against Manchester City on Sunday

But for genuine, offensive flair, a game-changer who can take an ordinary ball and turn it into something extraordinary, Saint-Maximin is the sole outlet.

The club’s Saudi-backed owners have spent £150million on seven new players since January — and invested well — yet the front three of Saint-Maximin, Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron is the same as it was pre-takeover.

It is why they are in talks with Watford over a deal for Brazilian forward Joao Pedro and have informed Chelsea of their strong interest in Christian Pulisic.

For what Sunday’s 3-3 draw with City showed, is that Newcastle are building a side capable of competing with the Premier League’s elite. 

The concern, over the course of a season, is that a solid structure and foundations are let down by the furnishings, be that the inconsistency of Saint-Maximin, the end product of Almiron or the fitness of Wilson, who was withdrawn in the second half because of a hamstring complaint.

The trio were outstanding, but, eight days previously during the fortunate goalless draw at Brighton, they were out of sync and out of sorts both collectively and individually. Howe knows the area in need of reinforcement and you sense a slight frustration emerging in his tone when it comes to transfer talk.

It was also telling when, after the City game, he said of Saint-Maximin: ‘It was his best performance since I’ve been managing him.’ Few would disagree, especially given the Frenchman has infuriated rather more than he has inspired in 2022, a period which has returned just one goal.

But it was equally interesting when Saint-Maximin later responded by saying: ‘(The manager) said it was maybe the best performance, because I gave a good ball or two and they scored. But sometimes you can give a good ball and they don’t score.’

The last sentence betrays his own irritation that better players have not arrived in positions to complement his own.

Sources also say the 25-year-old’s camp want an improved contract, even though he signed a new six-year deal in 2020.

Managing the above issues — Saint-Maximin can be as temperamental as he is talented — will be one of Howe’s biggest challenges this season, and is why a reliance on him is potentially hazardous.

Howe, and the owners, have transformed the football club. They may play in monochrome, but there is no stadium in the country as colourful and vibrant as St James’ Park right now. 

Sunday was an occasion to savour — it felt like two top teams going at each other for an unrelenting 90 minutes. But it was one match, and one in which Saint-Maximin’s excellence was long overdue and Wilson went off injured.

So if Newcastle are to sustain their good start and achieve the European football Howe’s efforts warrant — Sportsmail columnist Graeme Souness can see them crashing the top six — their fragility in the final third needs to be strengthened.

Souness is right, there is an opening for them to accelerate their journey during this campaign and Sunday proved how close they are. But it also revealed the work that remains to be done.