“He’s late in training and also in meetings sometimes he comes late. But he’s a great lad. It was his first time with us but now he’s getting better.”At least Atsu finds it funny, and at least the French winger is getting better. Saint-Maximin picking up the most fines is no surprise, he was always billed as a trouble maker before he even joined Newcastle.For that reason, he might not even have arrived at St James’ Park if Rafa Benitez was still in charge.

Fortunately for Saint-Maximin, his footballing is doing the talking. If things were going wrong on the pitch, he’d probably get hammered for his bad timekeeping and picking up fines. But every time he’s donned the black and white stripes he’s impressed. And surely he’s only going to get better and better.