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Diamond in the rough: Allan Saint-Maximin, the £16m maverick from Nice who has become the talk of the Toon since joining Newcastle United

There are myriad reasons why Newcastle United paid French club Nice just £16million for Allan Saint-Maximin last summer.

Here was an enfant terrible, a talented maverick who was expelled from the illustrious Clairefontaine academy aged 12 and whose social-media posts included drinking in a nightclub after his team had lost, as well as ill-advised pictures of his bank account.

There were accusations of feigning illness to miss a game, a car crash involving a tram - after which it was reported he produced a fake driving license - and questions over his attitude.

There are a myriad of reasons that Newcastle United paid just u00a316m for Allan Saint-Maximin
The winger made some ill-advised moves whilst playing for French side Nice before moving

Nice boss Patrick Vieira said of him: 'Allan's problem is that sadly he thinks that talent is enough to go to the highest level.