Newcastle United have enquired about the possibility of signing Harvey Barnes, but have fallen short of the valuation set by Leicester City.
This is according to transfer journalist Ben Jacobs, who has been discussing the Toon’s interest in the 24-year-old on The Done Deal Show.
Leicester find themselves in a tricky situation this summer, with no players through the door and reports of needing to sell before they buy.
Jacobs believes the Foxes have their midfielder valued in the region of £50m, and it is said Eddie Howe’s side have him estimated around half of Leicester’s asking price.
Although the Toon have already fallen short in their interest in the Englishman, Jacobs added there is a possibility the Foxes could part ways with Barnes this summer.
He said: “Harvey Barnes is a really interesting one because Leicester’s position is that he’s a £50m player. And Newcastle have enquired for about half of that fee. And Leicester are either pricing him out of the market, or there may be some scope to come to a common ground there.
“Not specifically for Newcastle, because there’s nothing crazily advanced there, but generally, they might be open to him, but I still think he’s way down [Leicester’s] list [to sell].”
TIF Thoughts on Jacobs’ comments…
Newcastle are still in need of some attacking additions this summer, however, £50m does feel a high asking price for a player who is yet to score over 10 league goals in a season (via Transfermarkt).
Is Harvey Barnes worth up to £50m?
Yes
No
But Barnes has shown an awful lot of potential during the last couple of seasons, with over 10 goal involvements in his last three Premier League seasons.
With no new striker or right-winger signed by Dan Ashworth, we think Newcastle’s attention should be focused on other targets, although Barnes would certainly be an impressive addition if they were to pursue him.