Newcastle United staff believe Florent Indalecio has 'got something' and Steve Bruce insists the Magpies have not signed the Frenchman just because he is Allan Saint-Maximin's 'mate'.
The 23-year-old has been kept on after impressing on trial with the Magpies' second string and has signed a short-term contract until the end of the season.
Indalecio has a remarkable back story and having previously been kicked out of Saint-Etienne's academy for poor behaviour at the age of 15, the attacking midfielder went on to work as a bricklayer while playing in the fifth tier of Australian football.
Saint-Maximin helped arrange the trial for his friend but, clearly, Indalecio did enough to convince the under-23s that he was worth keeping on.
"He came over for a trial with Allan in the summer," Bruce told reporters on a Zoom call. "He came into the academy and they’ve had him for the past six weeks.
"They say he''s got something. Whether that will ever be good enough to play for Newcastle, we’ll see how he develops and how he is. We’ll give him a chance. He’s got a decent pedigree. We'll see how he goes.
‘It certainly helps Allan - it’s his mate - but make no mistake, we haven’t just signed him because he’s his mate.
"The kid's got a bit of talent. Otherwise, he wouldn't be coming into the academy side of it with the under-23s. Certainly, we'll give him a chance and see how he is and what he's like in the next few months."
