Saint-Maximin showed he might be worth Everton interest

As Everton prepare to take on Aston Villa this evening at Villa Park, one player tentatively linked with a move to Merseyside showed his potential last night.

That player is Newcastle forward Allan Saint-Maximin who was said to be on the radar of Everton boss Rafa Benitez this summer.

The Frenchman was outstanding in his team’s 1-1 draw with Leeds last night and gave the sort of performance that indicates he could certainly play for a better side than the Magpies.

Saint-Maximin was a constant threat for the home team showing great pace, good movement and a willingness to pick up the ball, run at his opponents and shoot at every opportunity. He scored his team’s equalising goal and could have got another one or two as well.

Anyway, why is this of relevance to the Toffees? Well I think that regardless of what happens this season, it seems increasingly possible the Blues Brazilian forward Richarlison will be interested in leaving Goodison Park next summer, if a suitably tempting offer comes along.

He might have left this summer as there were tentative rumours of interest from Real Madrid now manged again by Carlo Ancelotti, a firm admirer of Richarlison although nothing came of this.

And then came stories of a late bid from PSG for the former Watford man in the last few days of the transfer window.

But this was dependent on Real Madrid being able to afford and then agree a deal to sign PSG’s star striker Kylian Mbappe in time, which in the end didn’t happen.

However, it does appear very probable that the Spanish giants and maybe others too, will come back for Mbappe and they will be able to get him on a free next summer.

If the French international leaves Paris, then will PSG come back for Richarlison? Their manager Mauricio Pochettino does seem very keen on bringing Richarlison across the English channel so I would think if Mbappe departs, he will bid for him next summer. There may well be other big clubs in Europe who are interested in signing Richarlison.

I also feel that unless Everton can at least qualify for Europe this season and probably the Champions League, which seems very unlikely, then the Brazil forward will want to move on.

I guess most Blues supporters would prefer to see Richarlison stay but he has previously intimated he will seek a new challenge if the team can’t meet his expectations, so we’ll see where the Toffees finish and what happens at the end of the campaign.

He’s also had continuous problems with his behaviour and at times his petulance can be very irritating and distracting. I wonder if this is to some extent an indication of his unhappiness?

We’ve seen several examples of this already in this campaign. First came his bizarre determination to take a penalty in the season opener against Southampton, which required an intervention from Seamus Coleman before the issue was settled and Dominic Calvert-Lewin took it.

Then on Monday night Richarlison made it very clear he was really unhappy when being taking off late on against Burnley although to be fair he’d had a very tough evening battling a physical side determined to get under his skin.

Benitez has been talking about how he has to manage the Brazilian differently from other players in his squad and his drive and winning mentality.

This sort of man-management has been a real feature of Benitez’s approach since becoming Everton boss and it’s getting results. Perhaps then he can convince Richarlison to commit longer term to the Toffees cause.

If not though and assuming the Blues get a substantial fee for him, I think that he may well target a player like Saint-Maximin to potentially replace the Brazilian as his qualities seem quite similar.

It’s early days this season but so far he’s looking an increasingly dangerous and effective forward and so he could well pop up again on Everton’s radar next summer.

If Richarlison leaves and the club need a replacement, I reckon he could be an option to consider. He can play out wide, behind Calvert-Lewin, or up front whether in a pair or on his own, a position where he seems to be thriving at Newcastle this season.