Newcastle United have decided upon the player they’re ready to get rid of in an attempt to sign Nottingham Forest star Anthony Elanga.
Elanga is one of Newcastle United’s transfer targets this summer, as was the case last year too.
Forest value Elanga at around £60million, meaning he could well become one of Newcastle’s most expensive players of all time this summer.
While Eddie Howe does not necessarily need to sell any of his best players this summer, cashing in on one of them would obviously raise further funds.
Now, there are claims Harvey Barnes could be the player sacrificed to raise money for Elanga.
Harvey Barnes celebrates after scoring for Newcastle against Manchester United
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Newcastle United ready to sell Harvey Barnes
According to TEAMtalk, Newcastle would be prepared to cash in on Barnes.
Newcastle paid £39million to sign Barnes from Leicester in 2023 and he’s since scored 14 goals in 63 games for the club.
Still, he has largely played second fiddle to Anthony Gordon for much of his time on Tyneside, until starring towards the back end of the 2024/25 season.
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The report suggests Barnes is seen as a potential makeweight in the deal for Elanga. Newcastle are said to value their winger at £50million, and Aston Villa have also been linked with a move.
What Newcastle United insiders are saying about Harvey Barnes
Back in May, Craig Hope of The Daily Mail claimed on YouTube that a swap deal which would have sent Barnes to Villa and Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle was floated in January.
It obviously didn’t happen in the end, with Barnes suffering an injury that month.
Hope claimed it was an idea that resurfaced in May, but that the message he received from insiders at St James’ Park was that Barnes is simply not for sale.
Whether or not that would change should a big offer emerge, however, remains to be seen.
“This first came about in January, when a swap move, one of these PSR-type swap deals where ‘you buy our player, we’ll be your player’ with Jacob Ramsey.
“That was floated but it didn’t happen, Barnes actually got injured in the middle of the month. Villa’s interest hasn’t gone away, it was floated again in midweek.
“But in [The Daily Mail] column, I reveal that the message I’ve got back from inside Newcastle this week is that Harvey Barnes is going nowhere.”