Newcastle United’s best-performing winger scored just five goals with five assists in the Premier League last season (Allan Saint-Maximin), while Eddie Howe’s other three wide-man (Jacob Murphy, Ryan Fraser, Miguel Almiron) failed to match his tally collectively (4 goals, 5 assists), so the Magpies manager needs to dip into the transfer market for at least one new recruit.
Newcastle tried and failed to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby and are weighing up a move for Leeds United’s Jack Harrison, but Noel Whelan believes they should go all out for Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes. The 24-year-old has risen from the youth ranks to the first-team, scoring 32 goals with 29 assists from 146 appearances in all competitions.
Newcastle want to sign Barnes for £25m but have been told to double their valuation to stand a chance of bringing him to St James’ Park. Howe doesn’t want to pay over the odds for new arrivals this summer, but Noel Whelan says he’s worth the money given what he’s shown in the Premier League.
He told Football Insider: “He’s probably admired by many big clubs. He has got the ability to score and create by using his real pace and power. But the main thing for him is his end product.
“£50million for what he has done in his career is not a bad bit of business, considering you are still going to get the best years out of him. Barnes is someone the Newcastle fans would enjoy watching week-in, week-out.”
Barnes scored 11 goals with 14 assists from 48 games across the board last season, so he out-performed every Newcastle player. Whether Howe is willing to pay £50m for the England international remains to be seen, however.
In other news, Jonjo Shelvey hailed for ‘great professionalism’
