Newcastle remain locked in talks with Leicester over a deal for Harvey Barnes with Eddie Howe weighing up a £30m opening offer… even though the relegated Foxes want closer to £40m for the in-demand winger
- Harvey Barnes is Newcastle top target this summer for a wide attacking role
- Leicester are hoping to receive a similar fee to their sale of James Maddison
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Newcastle remain locked in talks with Leicester over Harvey Barnes with the Magpies pondering an opening offer around the £30million mark.
Barnes is Newcastle’s No1 target for a wide attacking role after scoring 13 goals for the relegated Foxes last season. The 25-year-old has two years remaining on his contract and is valued at close to £40m – the fee Leicester received from Tottenham for James Maddison earlier this summer.
Barnes was also targeted by Aston Villa and West Ham but Newcastle has always been his first choice as he would have the chance to play in the Champions League in the coming season.
is proven at this level, playing a key role in the Leicester teams who finished fifth in 2020 and 2021, as well as winning the FA Cup in 2021 and reaching the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League a year later. The 25-year-old will hope to add to his single England cap in the build-up to Euro 2024.
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Harvey Barnes is Newcastle’s top target for a wide attacking role after starring for Leicester
Barnes scored 13 goals for Leicester last season despite their relegation to the Championship
Talks continue following Leicester’s relegation with the Foxes valuing Barnes at around £40m
Dropping into the Championship placed extra pressure on Leicester to sell their star assets given the reduction in television revenue, parachute payments notwithstanding.
Maddison and Barnes were comfortably the Foxes’ best two attackers last season but are unlikely to be the only players to leave, with Kelechi Iheanacho, Timothy Castagne, Wilfried Ndidi, Patson Daka, Jannik Vestergaard and Boubakary Soumare among those who could also depart.
The sale of Barnes would also help Leicester stay within spending rules. Any fee the Foxes generate would count as pure profit under Financial Fair Play, as Barnes was developed in the Leicester academy.
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