Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe could be forced into making some difficult decisions with his squad in the summer transfer window.
The English boss will be looking to further bolster his side after securing Champions League football courtesy of a fourth-placed Premier League finish last season, with Sandro Tonali arriving from AC Milan as the first major addition of the off-season.
Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes is also reportedly closing in on a move to St. James' Park for a fee in the region of £35m, following his team's relegation to the Championship.
Bringing in new signings could open the door for Howe to brutally ditch members of his current team and one player who may be on the chopping block is Allan Saint-Maximin, as Serie A side Atalanta have been linked with a swoop for the French attacker.
How much was Allan Saint-Maximin?
Newcastle signed the exciting forward for a fee within the region of £16.5m from Nice in 2019 and the Daily Mail reported last year that the club would have been willing to listen to offers of around £50m for his services.
It remains to be seen how much they would value the 26-year-old ace at now but Howe could cash in on the former Ligue 1 wizard and secure an exciting replacement in the form of San Jose Earthquakes starlet Cade Cowell.
The Magpies have been touted with interest in the 19-year-old maestro this year. The player is valued at €4.4m (£3.8m) by FootballTransfers.
How many goals does Cade Cowell have so far?
Despite his young age, Cowell is an experienced MLS performer with 11 goals and over 100 senior appearances for his current club.
He has racked up nine goals and 12 assists in 93 league games to date, whilst Saint-Maximin has managed 12 goals to go along with 19 assists across 111 Premier League matches.
This suggests that the pair produce end product at a similar rate, with the Newcastle man boasting a slightly better average of a goal involvement every 3.80 outings, in comparison to the teenager's 4.43. The different being, however, that while Saint-Maximin is a seasoned pro, the man who could replace him is still very much in the infancy of his career.
Cowell, who was once described as "exciting" and a "wonderful" talent by scout Jacek Kulig, also caught the eye for the USA national team in the Gold Cup last month.
The 6-foot wizard averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.60 across three appearances as he bagged one goal and created three 'big chances' for his teammates.
This came after the talented youngster scored three goals and registered two 'big chances' at the U20 World Cup earlier this year.
Cowell would arrive at Newcastle as a player with potential Howe could work with over the course of the next few years to help him make the most of his talent.
The 19-year-old magician could, therefore, be an exciting replacement for Saint-Maximin as the Magpies would be bringing in someone with the scope to offer a similar level of attacking threat while also being seven years younger with room to develop.
