Former England defender Martin Keown says Allan Saint-Maximin's fitness will be key for Newcastle United this season.

The 1-1 draw with Leeds still leaves Newcastle without a win from their opening five Premier League matches and Keown believes they need to keep the Frenchman fit if they are going to have any chance of surviving this season.

"Saint-Maximin was the player who got them back into it," the ex-Arsenal defender said on Match of the Day. "I thought the crowd would turn on them but they were quite spirited after they changed the system.

"Look at his blistering pace, (Liam) Cooper needs to buy a ticket to get back in. Leeds dominated possession but when Newcastle attacked it looked like they wanted to do something.

"They were spirited in their performance and it was a fantastic goal. He had no right to score having hit the shot with no backlift. Everything they did seemed to be all around that young man, time and time again he went for goal and he's a box of tricks.

"They're going to have to keep him fit if they want to get out of trouble. They're without a win but he was really impressive. If Callum Wilson was there they may have got all three points from the game."