Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has played down rumours linking winger Allan Saint-Maximin away from the club.
The Frenchman, who arrived at St. James' Park from Nice ahead of the 2018-19 season, has featured in every minute of the Magpies' Premier League campaign so far, hitting two goals and providing two assists.
Such form has led to reported interest in the winger from across Europe, but Bruce has insisted that he does not want to lose the 24-year-old.
When asked about Saint-Maximin's future in the press conference ahead of Newcastle's trip to Watford in the Premier League, Bruce said: "I haven't even had that conversation – and I don't want to have that conversation, as you can imagine. Look, we don't want to lose our best players at all. For now, I'm not going to have that conversation with anybody because we want to keep our best players."
The manager continued to praise his winger, saying: "When he walked through the door, I said he was going to get all of you off your seats, that he'd be a firm favourite. He's playing as well as anybody can in the Premier League at the moment, and when he's playing like this then he is a joy to watch.
"He's something different, his pace and power and his balance, and he does things which nobody else can do in the Premier League. It's all natural to him. Let's hope we can get a bit more threat alongside him."
The Magpies find themselves in a strong position to keep hold of their asset, who signed a six-year contract early in his Newcastle career.
Sam Varley
