- Harvey Barnes ready to replace Anthony Gordon
- Nottingham Forest goal takes season tally to 16
- Barnes must be treated better
The uncertainty around Anthony Gordon’s future has been a big talking point in Newcastle United circles. A move to Bayern Munich is creeping ever closer ahead of the summer transfer window.
The situation has raised questions about where Newcastle may turn for a replacement. There have been links with the likes of Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford and Porto’s William Gomes.
But, whilst those players mark interesting options, the Magpies may be better served looking closer to home for someone to take over the starting role and may not need to spend any money at all this summer.
Harvey Barnes scores goals
The weekend’s Nottingham Forest fixture was a fairly dull affair until the 74th minute.
Jacob Ramsey received the ball with an excellent turn and slipped a delightful ball through to Harvey Barnes, who had made a devastating run off the shoulder.
Barnes took the ball expertly in his stride and struck a fierce effort past Matz Sels to break the deadlock.
It was the winger’s second goal in two games off the bench and his seventh Premier League goal despite only starting 18 games.
Add to that Barnes’ magical Champions League tally of six goals and four assists in 12 games, and you get an overall tally of 16 goals and five assists this season. Not bad for a back-up winger.
Compare those statistics to Gordon, the man who has kept him out of the side for large parts of the season, and the England international has only managed one more goal across the season.
Furthermore, Gordon actually has a worse goalscoring record than Barnes despite the former starting six more games and playing up front in some of those appearances.
In short, when he plays, Harvey Barnes scores goals.
Barnes treated poorly at Newcastle
Despite Barnes’ goalscoring threat, he has been treated rather poorly.
The winger was forced to play off the right when in a red-hot run of form earlier in the season. Howe instead favoured playing Gordon, who had been poor for weeks, on the left after stating that ‘Gordon wasn’t comfortable’ playing out of position.
It was a very strange decision and one which should really never have happened. Barnes’s form also dropped off from there, something which was almost entirely the fault of moving him to the right to accommodate Gordon.
Now we are in a situation where Gordon has seemingly decided he is leaving and isn’t getting minutes as a result. Yet, for whatever reason, Harvey Barnes is still condemned to the bench and having to scrap for crumbs of playing time.
But still, every time he gets on the pitch, he looks dangerous, creates chances and often impacts the game with a contribution.
Barnes is ideal Gordon replacement
With that being said, should Gordon’s move away materialise, it doesn’t appear to make much sense to spend a large sum on signing a replacement.
Barnes has proved that he is one of the best finishers at the club, all whilst not even being given significant minutes.
It must be said that the 28-year-old often looks a lot less dangerous when he does start games. But given the importance of his output this season, it feels rather egregious to ignore his talent when thinking about a Gordon replacement.
Given Newcastle’s new recruitment strategy of signing younger players going forward, utilising Barnes and bringing in a talented prospect who can grow alongside and challenge Barnes across the season may be a better strategy than signing a marquee player.
But, no matter what the decision is, one thing is for certain. This season’s performances have proved that Harvey Barnes’ talent far outweighs that of a bit-part player.
