Harvey Barnes has had a rather complicated time of things at Newcastle United.
Barnes has scored goals when available off the bench for Newcastle United, although injuries have robbed him of many first-team starts.
While he has impressed at times, the winger has sometimes struggled to justify a regular starting berth even when Eddie Howe has trusted him from the off.
Indeed, Barnes struggled against Bromley in the FA Cup, although perhaps a groin injury explained that rather sub-par performance.
Barnes did little to impact the FA Cup game against Brighton either, though again the fact he’s only recently coming back from injury offers some mitigation.
Still, it remains to be seen if he can ever be a starter. Anthony Gordon will take some ousting and the likes of Joelinton and Joe Willock are options on the left-wing too.
However, perhaps a door has opened up. Gordon is suspended for the next three games – including Sunday’s Carabao Cup final – and Barnes (at least in theory) looks the most natural player to replace him.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
It’s time for Harvey Barnes to prove what Eddie Howe said about him in 2023
Newcastle paid £39m to sign Barnes in 2023, which seemed somewhat strange at the time. Though not to doubt his quality, paying that much money for a left-winger only a few months after signing Gordon in the same position looked odd, particularly given the lack of a compelling option on the opposite flank.
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Upon signing him, Howe said (via Newcastle United’s official website): “Harvey is an exciting talent who I have admired for a long time so I’m delighted to welcome him to Newcastle United.
“He is strong, quick and very good technically, and he showed last season in particular that he has an eye for goal from wide positions.
“He will add a different element to our play and we look forward to working with him as we prepare for the season ahead.”
Now, it’s time for Barnes to prove that. He has a chance to step-up in the absence of Gordon, potentially in one of the biggest games in Newcastle’s modern history when they head to Wembley on Sunday.
It would be wrong to suggest the 27-year-old hasn’t shown some promise. Certainly, 10 goals and 4 assists in 51 games (of which only 17 have been starts) points to something.
Brilliant goals against West Ham and Wolves prove what a good player he can be, though Newcastle fans just haven’t seen it on a consistent basis. Injuries of course haven’t helped, but to suggest Barnes has always looked capable of replacing Gordon even when he’s been fit would be wrong.
Harvey Barnes could be playing for Newcastle United future
Barnes could leave Newcastle in the summer, with Craig Hope of the Daily Mail recently hinting the subject of his future was “50/50” in terms of staying or leaving.
Games Starts Goals Assists Game-winning goals Games missed through injury
51 17 10 4 2 38
Harvey Barnes record at Newcastle United, stats via Transfermarkt
Earlier this season, it was reported that Barnes is frustrated by his lack of game time. Now, with Gordon suspended for some absolutely huge games, the former Leicester man is never going to get a better chance of proving he should be a regular starter.
The jury is out on whether or not Barnes has proven worth the money for Newcastle. Over the next week or so, perhaps we will finally get an answer.