Newcastle United’s owners, PIF, have given the green light for Allan Saint-Maximin to move to Saudi Arabia and are now working on finalizing a deal to bring Harvey Barnes to St James’ Park, according to 90min.
The report states that Newcastle confirmed Saint-Maximin’s absence from their recent trip to Rangers and manager Eddie Howe revealed that the winger is in talks over a transfer.
“He’s in early discussions over a potential move away. That’s why he wasn’t here,” said Howe. “It’s doubtful he’ll join us on the tour of America. I don’t think Maxi necessarily wants to leave, but he may feel it’s the right time for him to move.”
Newcastle, who have so far only signed AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali this summer, are facing Financial Fair Play issues and need to offload some squad players in order to fund new signings.
“Maxi is the player that’s generating the interest, FFP is a new dynamic which really came to the fore after my first window here when we knew it would impact us,” added Howe. “Player trading is a key part of it – you can’t hit it if you don’t trade.”
The club has made a move for Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes and talks are progressing. They hope to finalize a fee of around £35m with Leicester and are confident they can win the race for his signature.
West Ham United had also been in talks with Barnes and Leicester but were unable to come to an agreement. Newcastle believes they can secure Barnes as he is a player that Howe has wanted for some time.
