At the start of June, Newcastle United were distancing themselves from Harvey Barnes. At the start of July, they are interested in the Leicester City winger once again.
Barnes was a target for Newcastle last summer but proved to be too expensive. However, he has been on the Magpies’ radar heading into the summer of 2023 following Leicester’s relegation to the Championship.
The England international is set to leave the King Power Stadium this summer, like James Maddison has already done. But rather than go to Newcastle, he has signed for Spurs.
That decision, combined with Dominik Szoboszlai heading to Liverpool, has forced Newcastle to realign their transfer targets, and it looks like Barnes is an option for Eddie Howe once again.
Newcastle reignite Harvey Barnes interest
According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle are reigniting their interest in Barnes, who is also a target for Aston Villa, Tottenham and West Ham.
The report states that Howe wants a winger who can cut inside, which has become a trademark of Barnes’ since his emergence at Leicester.
He scored 13 Premier League goals for the Foxes last season, making him one of their best performers in a really disappointing season.
But Barnes has the quality to continue in the top flight, and would give Howe even more options in attack. However, talk of Newcastle reigniting their interest is odd.
The 25-year-old has been an option for the Magpies for a while now – until the start of last month. It was reported by the Daily Mail at the beginning of June that Newcastle were not pursuing a deal for Barnes as they have Anthony Gordon, who they have high hopes for next season.
Fast forward a month and now the same publication (albeit a different journalist) believes that Barnes is a transfer target once again.
Something does not add up, but it seems certain that Barnes will be on the move this summer – whether that is to Newcastle or somewhere else.
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