Allan Saint-Maximin joins Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli for around £23M

Allan Saint-Maximin is now an Al-Ahli player. The mercurial winger's move to Saudi Arabia is complete, with the Pro League side paying a fee in the region of £23 million. Maxi passed his medical a week ago and all the paperwork has been signed in the past 24 hours, with the Frenchman putting pen to paper on a three-year contract.

While there is yet to be an official announcement from either club, Get French Football News and The Athletic's transfer expert David Ornstein have each confirmed the completion of the deal on Twitter this evening.

Ornstein reports that Saint-Maximin leaves Newcastle on positive terms and with best wishes from everyone at the club, though the surprisingly low transfer fee points to the fact that Eddie Howe and company were very happy to move him on this summer.

Howe himself has said that Maxi's sale has helped to facilitate all of our transfer business so far this summer and will mean that no further sales are required before more business is done. While we're grateful for everything ASM did on Tyneside and for the unforgettable memories he provided, it did feel like this summer was a natural end for his Newcastle journey.

It's a huge shame he won't get to play in the Champions League in black and white after helping the club scale such heights for the first time in two decades. However, despite his obvious effort to fit into Howe's high-intensity, team-first game plan last season it was very clear that it didn't come naturally to him.

He'll no doubt be a star attraction in the Pro League and he's another undeniably talented French winger that leaves St. James' Park with a whiff of "what if" about him, as with Messrs Ginola, Robert, N'Zogbia, and Ben Arfa.

You can see a highlight reel of his best moments from 2022/23 below. Thanks for the magic, Maxi.