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'Absolutely brilliant' - Darren Bent blown away by Newcastle star he'd hate to play against
Darren Bent has revealed he was dazzled by the performance of Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin in the Magpies’ 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday.
The former Tottenham and England striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider assistant editor Russell Edge, says that while it was boyhood Newcastle fan Matty Longstaff who stole the headlines, it was the French winger who really caught his eye at St James’ Park.
The 22-year-old attacker, who joined from French side OGC Nice this summer, was making just his second start of the season after injuries caused him to sit out a number of games.
Having tormented the Manchester United defence, most notably right-back Diogo Dalot, Bent says that the winger stood out for all the right reasons on Sunday, insisting he would be a nightmare to play against.
Bent told Football Insider: “For me, that game was all about Saint-Maximin. He was absolutely brilliant. He carried the fight from minute one, when he got that ball, drove forward and had a shot, he had Manchester United on the back foot.
“Dalot, they had to take him off because Maximin was absolutely destroying him. This guy, you talk about speed, power, pace, trickery – if I was a full-back, I wouldn’t want to play against him for the simple fact that I don’t think he knows what he wants to do.
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“He was doing step over after step over after step over, arms are going everywhere.”
Saint-Maximin has only managed to feature four times so far for the Magpies after hamstring and thigh problems early in his Newcastle career, his 83 minutes against Manchester United topping the 57 minutes played in the other three games.
He has the likes of Christian Atsu, Miguel Almiron and Matt Ritchie to battle with for a place either on the wing or behind the striker, the Scottish international currently out injured.
In other Newcastle United news, Danny Mills was left head over heels for one Magpies ace after his “incredible” performance against Manchester United.