If all goes to plan, Harvey Barnes will be Newcastle United’s second senior signing of the summer.
Eddie Howe is looking to add a winger to his squad after the arrival of Sandro Tonali, and appears to have decided that Barnes is the player he wants.
Talks over a move to Newcastle intensified last week. It was first claimed that the Magpies were favourites to snap up the 25-year-old, and then it was suggested that Howe’s side were about to make an official bid.
That bid is still yet to be placed, but Barnes is keen to join Newcastle, and he is expected to leave Leicester City. It has been claimed that he has now agreed personal terms with the Magpies, which is a huge step in the right direction.
The stars will hopefully align to allow Barnes to move to the North East, and a quick deal for the England international could be another stroke of genius by the Toon hierarchy.
Harvey Barnes has an advantage over Sandro Tonali
Tonali is yet to begin training with his new team, having spent the summer representing Italy at the Under-21 European Championship.
When he arrives, he will need to get up to speed as fast as possible to deal with the ferocity and physicality of English football. There will certainly be an adaptation period, while he will be playing catch-up when he first begins training at a later date than everybody else.
In contrast, Barnes is ready to go now. He already knows what the Premier League is like, having competed in it for the last four and a half seasons in a Leicester shirt. He understands how fast it can be, and how physical you need to be to succeed.
How Leicester’s relegation could help Newcastle
And the added bonus of getting a player like Barnes comes from the fact that Leicester were relegated last season. They are going to compete in the Championship, which kicks off one week earlier than the Premier League.
Therefore, Leicester are already one week deep into their pre-season preparations. Barnes has already been putting in the hard yards, ensuring he is in the best shape to start the new season.
That would massively help him if he arrives at Newcastle. It could allow him to make an immediate impression, which is exactly what Howe will be after.
When Anthony Gordon arrived, he struggled with the step up in fitness and pace on Tyneside. Barnes might suffer the same fate, but he will at least have the added bonus of an extra week of training under his belt. He won’t be playing catch-up – if anything he might have a head start.
It therefore should not take him a huge amount of time to prove his sharpness to Howe, who will be keen to integrate the potential new signing as soon as possible.
Jose Enrique thinks Barnes might be ‘perfect’ for Newcastle, and there’s every chance he could be right.
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