Meet your new favorite player: 20-year-old Nice winger Allan Saint-Maximin has everything you could ask for in a dynamic young attacker. He's pacy, skilled, smart and not afraid to try cool stuff.
Watch him turn into a one-man counterattack against Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa League on Thursday.
The man has afterburners, is what we're trying to say here. Poor number 28. It's got to be pretty frustrating to not even be fast enough to lay a professional foul on an opponent. That was like a Corvette racing a Geo Metro. By the way, the center back Saint-Maximin turned inside-out is USA international Matt Miazga, on loan at Arnhem from Chelsea. So it goes.
Maximin is primarily known as a dribbler, but he has tremendous passing vision too. His shot is a work in progress, but it's getting better. Anyone who pulls up and shoots from beyond the 18 on a counterattack like that has confidence in his or her shot. It worked out this time.
Also, Saint-Maximin celebrates goals by doing front flips, which, more please.
This is Saint-Maximin's first season with Nice. Thursday's goal was his first with the club, but there will surely be many more to come. He's at Nice because following the mass exodus from Monaco's Ligue 1 title-winning squad they decided they didn't need Saint-Maximin either. That decision is currently looking foolish.
At Monaco, Saint-Maximin made one senior appearance and spent two seasons on loan, with Hannover 96 and Bastia. Before Monaco he played for Saint Etienne.
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Saint-Maximin only has five professional goals in more than 60 appearances, which explains why all the big clubs aren't currently drooling over him and offering Nice exorbitant fees for his services, but that time will come. Remember the name Allan Saint-Maximin. You will be hearing it around these parts for a long time.
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