Allan Saint-Maximin urges Steve Bruce to sign this player for Newcastle United

The Frenchman has been a revelation on Tyneside following his £16.5million move from Nice in the summer of 2019 as teams across Europe begin to show interest.

A report from Italy earlier this week claimed Saint-Maximin was on Roma’s radar, with incoming manager Jose Mourinho considering a £40m transfer.

Saint-Maximin signed a new long-term deal in November last year to keep him at St James’s Park until 2026 but there is a suggestion he could leave before then as he outlines his own ambitions.

Indeed, the 24-year-old, whilst eyeing a place in the French national team, wants to see the Magpies compete for trophies, rather than achieve owner Mike Ashley’s annual target of finishing 17th in the top-flight.

He told Sky Sports: “When they asked me about a new deal, I feel that I have to give. Sometimes when people give you something, you have to give back.

"But before I signed it, I had always said Newcastle should not be fighting against relegation every year. We have to fight for the top 10, it's what the supporters deserve.

"Sometimes you have to think about your future, you can see Leicester winning the FA Cup, you play football to win trophies, not to fight to stay up.”

And Saint-Maximin believes one way of doing that is by signing Willock on a permanent basis from Arsenal.

The 21-year-old has scored five goals in his last five appearances – six in 12 in total after arriving on loan in January.

He continued: "We have to buy more players like Joe Willock he can be really great for the team and for myself, I am 24 years old, and have to think about the national team, about winning trophies, and hope the club can give me that.

"My relationship is really good with Joe inside and outside the pitch, and you can see how that helps a team when you have players like that - like Harry Kane and Heung-min Son at Tottenham."