Harvey Barnes: Newcastle sign England winger from Leicester City for £38m - BBC Sport
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Harvey Barnes: Newcastle sign England winger from Leicester City for £38m

Last updated on .From the section Newcastlecomments999

Harvey Barnes in action for Leicester against Newcastle
Harvey Barnes made his Leicester debut as a substitute in a Champions League game against Porto aged 18 in December 2016

Newcastle United have signed England winger Harvey Barnes from Leicester City for a fee of about £38m.

The 25-year-old, capped once by England, has signed a five-year contract with the Magpies.

He is the club's third signing of the summer following the arrivals of forward Yankuba Minteh and Italian international midfielder Sandro Tonali.

"I think it's an attacker's dream to come into a team like this," Barnes said.

"I'm delighted. It's an amazing club and for me it's a massive opportunity to come and be involved in a successful team that's doing exciting things, so I'm absolutely buzzing to be here."

Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League last season and in 2023-24 will be playing in the Champions League for the first time since 2003-04.

"Harvey is an exciting talent who I have admired for a long time so I'm delighted to welcome him to Newcastle United," said Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe.

"He is strong, quick and very good technically, and he showed last season in particular that he has an eye for goal from wide positions."

Barnes is the latest player to leave the Foxes after their relegation from the Premier League.

He made 146 Premier League appearances for Leicester, scoring 35 goals and creating 25 assists.

Despite scoring 13 league goals in 2022-23, he could not save them from dropping into the Championship.

His departure comes after James Maddison moved to Tottenham in a £40m deal, while fellow midfielder Youri Tielemans and defender Caglar Soyuncu left on free transfers, joining Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Analysis

Harry De Cosemo, BBC Sport

The arrival of Harvey Barnes is further evidence of how opportunistic Newcastle have been this summer.

Similarly to the purchase of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, their first major signing of the summer, Barnes wasn't high on Newcastle's priority list as they initially hunted a right midfielder.

But the winger's work-rate and eye for goal, having scored 13 times in the Premier League for Leicester last season, was enough for Newcastle to move for him once his price became clear and the imminent departure of French winger Allan Saint-Maximin gathered pace.

Barnes will slot into the attack perfectly, with high energy, direct running and a consistent threat.

This is yet more evidence of the measured approach to recruitment on Tyneside, despite increased spending power following the 2021 Saudi Arabia-backed takeover of the club.

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999 comments

  • Comment posted by Stephen, at 15:29 23 Jul 2023

    Sad to lose him at Leicester but as we were relegated the move was somewhat inevitable. He is a good lad with excellent values who under Eddie Howe will thrive. Good luck Harvey.

    • Reply posted by Keith Howkins, at 16:40 23 Jul 2023

      Keith Howkins replied:
      Agree totally. At leicester he became a one-trick pony and could only cut in from the left wing but in fairness, would often score. Perhaps Howe could teach him to beat players on the outside

  • Comment posted by Maccers, at 15:16 23 Jul 2023

    Stats suggest he’s more effective than he appears. Wouldn’t question Newcastle recruitment though, they haven’t made many mistakes yet.

  • Comment posted by Rosnovski, at 15:16 23 Jul 2023

    That's another great Howe acquisition. Talented, hard worker. They are building a strong side.

    • Reply posted by soccerteur, at 15:45 23 Jul 2023

      soccerteur replied:
      Agree and they're gonna need one when Madrid flies in for the Champions League semi 😉

  • Comment posted by DaveP1982, at 16:09 23 Jul 2023

    Would have liked him at Villa, underrated and if we'd signed him it would have stopped him being a pain in the backside! He always looked quality when we played Leicester. Genuinely hope he does well at Newcastle and that they, us, Brighton & some others can keep upsetting the entitled 'big 6' lot

    • Reply posted by cuddlesthekillerwhale, at 17:04 23 Jul 2023

      cuddlesthekillerwhale replied:
      Agree, I fancied getting him to VP.
      Anyway, looks like we might have signed a better one.

  • Comment posted by nash, at 16:24 23 Jul 2023

    Barnes will be sadly missed by us. I'm happy he's going to a club like Newcastle though. Great fans great club

    • Reply posted by Forensics, at 16:29 23 Jul 2023

      Forensics replied:
      Ungracious Fans Empty Cabinet.

  • Comment posted by GeordiePower, at 15:21 23 Jul 2023

    Very good young English player, who will improve under Eddie. Welcome Harvey Barnes.

    • Reply posted by D1693255218045, at 15:57 23 Jul 2023

      D1693255218045 replied:
      Newcastle did well to qualify for the Europa League last season but they've been terrible for about 5 years prior to that!

      The problems really started when they moved stadiums; the Stadium if Light just doesn't capture the same atmosphere they used to get at Ayresome Park.

  • Comment posted by Blabberwocky, at 15:48 23 Jul 2023

    As a Leicester fan I was often frustrated with him but his numbers are pretty good and I expect Eddie Howe to get more out of him. Good luck Harvey, thanks for all the goals.

    • Reply posted by billy1948, at 16:22 23 Jul 2023

      billy1948 replied:
      Proper fan that isn't the least bit jealous, good luck next season.

  • Comment posted by Max, at 15:31 23 Jul 2023

    Wow, the standard of trolling isn't getting any better, is it. Embarrassing.

    Welcome to NUFC, Harvey. Sure Howe will get the best out of him, like most other player he has signed. Good luck lad.

    • Reply posted by Scotm33, at 16:14 23 Jul 2023

      Scotm33 replied:
      What like Gordon??? deluded Saudi fan.

  • Comment posted by IJB, at 15:25 23 Jul 2023

    Great signing for United

    • Reply posted by Dyno76, at 15:30 23 Jul 2023

      Dyno76 replied:
      Man Utd havnt signed him

  • Comment posted by Mr and Mrs Banks, at 15:16 23 Jul 2023

    Has anyone actually disclosed a transfer fee yet this season? I think the only I heard about was Rice.

    Typical Howe signing this one. Good solid dependable winger, will make a great squad player.

    • Reply posted by Llion, at 15:22 23 Jul 2023

      Llion replied:
      £38million I believe, for a player with 1 international cap to his name.
      Decent player though

  • Comment posted by Sandy2404, at 15:49 23 Jul 2023

    Watched him at MK Dons when he was on loan in 2017 (?). He was 19/20 then and the best player on the pitch in every game.
    Reckon he’ll be a great signing for NUFC and I’m sure he’ll now become a regular in the England squad too.

    • Reply posted by bilbo, at 21:29 23 Jul 2023

      bilbo replied:
      Will become a regular in the England squad when the current crop retire or Southgate goes.

  • Comment posted by The Unheard, at 15:39 23 Jul 2023

    Barnes for me is a top 6 level winger, but doesn't get the credit he deserves for me.

    • Reply posted by Bottle of Red, at 19:29 23 Jul 2023

      Bottle of Red replied:
      Perhaps he didn't perform consistently enough.

  • Comment posted by MAH, at 15:18 23 Jul 2023

    Excellent, looking forward to seeing the impact he will make, he seems to have a very good attitude and he knows where the goal is too...

    • Reply posted by redone, at 16:06 23 Jul 2023

      redone replied:
      He got relegated.

  • Comment posted by Me, at 15:16 23 Jul 2023

    better than Saint M?

    • Reply posted by Stefroach74, at 15:24 23 Jul 2023

      Stefroach74 replied:
      Better than Gordon.

  • Comment posted by Jack Clancy Rugsancharoenphol, at 15:49 23 Jul 2023

    38 million quids for a decent english player , not too bad given the market price these days, not to mention he's only 25

    • Reply posted by slayer, at 16:23 23 Jul 2023

      slayer replied:
      I disagree. Newcastle have been ripped off. If Man Utd bought him, you'd all be laughing. Mason Mount is better value at £55mil yet for some reason our rivals were laughing. Tells you a lot about football fans in this country.

  • Comment posted by Relax and Chill, at 15:16 23 Jul 2023

    Building a decent side Newcastle can see them definitely making the top 4 again.

    • Reply posted by Get real , at 15:48 23 Jul 2023

      Get real replied:
      I would say they are building a squad. They already bought Gordon who plays in a similar position. They are probably ahead of the new owners targets with their CL qualification

  • Comment posted by Half Hearted Waffle , at 16:22 23 Jul 2023

    Scored 13 prem goals from 34 appearances last season in a struggling Leicester side.

    Will go to prove some of the doubters wrong in this comment section.

  • Comment posted by hi, at 15:14 23 Jul 2023

    another quality signing

  • Comment posted by D1700481826963, at 15:19 23 Jul 2023

    Cant see Leicester coming straight back up now they have lost their best players

    • Reply posted by Foxinthebox11, at 15:34 23 Jul 2023

      Foxinthebox11 replied:
      Signed Coady, Winks, new goalkeeper and one or two wingers incoming. Think they'll be fine.

  • Comment posted by Pekay99, at 15:39 23 Jul 2023

    Not a NUFC fan but think this is an excellent signing. A very good young player with loads of ability. Keen to improve and will only get better under Howe and playing in a better side. Expecting a really good season from Barnes. Good luck to the lad.

    • Reply posted by D1690188813470, at 15:41 23 Jul 2023

      D1690188813470 replied:
      Hes 25. Probably close to his peak footballing years

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