Allan Saint-Maximin has been a rare bright spot in a worrying start to the season for Newcastle United.
The summer signing from Nice made his second St James’ Park start on Sunday and looked the player most likely to spark Newcastle into life with his direct running and desire to put United onto the front foot.
And that fine start is reflected in an impressive stat: Saint-Maximin leads the way across Europe’s top leagues in terms of average successful dribbles per 90 minutes.
That means he’s leaving Neymar, Wilfried Zaha and Nabil Fekir in his wake so far this season, according to stats website Scouted Football.
It’s a welcome relief from United being bottom of the charts in some other key stats, and Newcastle will certainly need Saint-Maximin to continue moving them forward if they’re going to solve the huge goalscoring problem that has caused them so many worries this season.
With Joelinton boasting only a single goal this season and fellow forward Miguel Almiron yet to get off the mark, United desperately need attacking impetus from somewhere.
