Eddie Howe just delivered his honest verdict on Harvey Barnes’ Newcastle debut vs Aston Villa

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Just hours after officially becoming a Newcastle United player, Harvey Barnes made his first appearance in the famous black and white stripes.

The club announced Barnes’ arrival on Sunday afternoon after completing a £38million deal to bring him to St James’ Park.

But his Toon career started in America rather than the North East. Barnes has immediately linked up with his new teammates in Philadelphia, and was involved in the 3-3 draw with Aston Villa.

The 25-year-old came off the bench and played the final 20 minutes against Unai Emery’s side, but was unable to inspire a third consecutive pre-season victory for the Magpies.

Instead, Eddie Howe had to settle for a draw, and he has now given his verdict on how his latest signing performed during his debut.

Eddie Howe pleased with ‘bright’ Harvey Barnes

After the 3-3 draw, Howe spoke to NUFC TV. He was asked to give his thoughts on Barnes’ performance.

“I think with Harvey we were umming and ahing about whether to play him tonight,” he said.

“It was a long journey yesterday, he hasn’t trained with the team yet, but we just thought it would be really good to get his debut and get his journey with Newcastle started.

“I thought he was really bright when he came on but now just looking forward to getting some training ground work with him.”

Some nice touches on his Newcastle debut

While it is hard to judge someone based on a 20 minute cameo in a friendly when the game had lost all rhythm, there were some real signs of promise from Barnes.

He took up residency on the left of attack, and combined with Anthony Gordon well at times. He already looks like a good fit, with his acceleration likely to be a valuable weapon as we look to win possession high up the pitch.

Barnes nearly crowned his Toon debut with a goal, as he tried his best to show the travelling Newcastle fans his party trick as soon as possible. He drifted inside onto his right foot and got a shot away, but it was well saved by Aston Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen.

But considering he only just linked up with the group after a long flight and had not even trained, the early signs were good from Barnes. As Howe says, he was really bright.

Now the hard work truly starts, as Barnes prepares to start training with his new side and Howe begins to work his magic.