Newcastle United head back into the Champions League this mid-week as the unbelievable might of Barcelona travels to St James' Park to do battle with Eddie Howe's Magpies.
Of course, last time the Toon found themselves deep in the illustrious competition, they did manage to upset a giant of Barca's magnitude in Paris St. Germain on their own patch, with Dan Burn's heroic effort culminating in a famous 4-1 triumph.
dan-burn-newcastle-united-champions-league-psg
History could well repeat itself, therefore, when Hansi Flick's La Liga outfit rock up to St James' Park at full volume.
However, before anyone gets too carried away, Howe will have to make some decisions about his starting XI, with Harvey Barnes one player in danger of dropping out.
harvey-barnes-newcastle
Barnes' early season struggles at Newcastle
While Nick Woltemade is now up and running in his new location, having just scored the decisive match-winning goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out, on the other hand, Barnes is struggling to get going.
Despite starting just 17 Premier League games last season due to injuries ravaging his chances at consistent minutes, the former Leicester City ace would still manage to pick up a standout nine goals and four assists along the way.
However, despite pushing past those injury difficulties to start all four of his side's league encounters this season, the goals and assists have unfortunately dried up, with zero goal contributions next to his name, despite creating two big chances.
For the crunch Champions League opener against Barca, Howe might now be tempted to axe Barnes completely, in favour of starting new recruit Anthony Elanga instead.
Elanga
After all, Elanga - who cost a whopping £55m to win this summer - even has experience of Europe's finest competition under his belt, with a goal in this competition coming his way from his minimal chances at Manchester United when slotting home an effort versus Atletico Madrid back in 2022.
While the short-term fix is likely to be the Swede, Newcastle also look as though they a long-term heir for Barnes up their sleeve.
Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes
Newcastle's heir to Barnes who could "go to the top"
Newcastle are known to pride itself on being a club that allows its youngsters to impress in the senior mix when the time is right.
The likes of Lewis Miley have experienced that first hand, with the 19-year-old midfield sensation never looking back after making his senior debut for the Toon in late 2023, with 49 appearances in the first team now coming his way.
Lewis Miley scores for Newcastle
Seung Soo-Park will hope he can soon follow in Miley's footsteps in being another raw youngster who settles into the first-team environment swimmingly, having already been praised quite heavily since switching South Korea for English shores.
After all, Park did leave quite the impression on fans of his former club Suwon Bluewings, with a strike bagged back in June last year versus Ansan Greeners FC, making him the youngest ever goalscorer in the history of South Korean professional football.
Park Seung-Soo Newcastle pre-season
This milestone even led to shouts that he was Korea's 'answer to Mbappe', with a further three assists heading his way at Suwon before Newcastle gambled on the much-talked-about attacker who has already shown flashes of his fearless excellence in pre-season, based on the numbers above.
Howe must have been impressed by his efforts against Espanyol and Tottenham Hotspur as he named the rising 18-year-old star among his substitutes last time out versus Wolves, with the hope he can develop into Newcastle's long-term answer to a stuttering Barnes if given time.
Barnes' career numbers
Stat
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Age of PL debut
Sourced by Transfermarkt
When looking at the table above, it's clear that Barnes didn't become a recognised Premier League success story overnight, with the Newcastle number 11 having to wait until he was three years older than Park to taste his first ever top-flight contest.
From that point on, however, Barnes' development would accelerate, with the one-time Foxes youngster once noted as being "devastating" by Sky Sports when learning the ropes at the King Power Stadium, before becoming a fully fledged top-flight regular, despite some wobbles in form.
Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes.
Howe and Co. will have to be patient and hope their gamble to bring Park to English shores works out, with ex-Suwon head coach Byun Sung-hwan noting that he can "go to the top."
If Miley and other homegrown examples are anything to go by, he could well be the next off the conveyor belt to shine, with a dream possible scenario seeing Park compete with Barnes to raise the 27-year-old's declining levels.