Newcastle have completed their swoop for Leicester frontman Harvey Barnes after a protracted pursuit.
The 25-year-old wide-man, who has been in the Magpies’ sights for sometime, has signed a five-year contract after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee which it is understood could eventually amount to £38million.
Newcastle said in a statement: “Newcastle United are delighted to announce the signing of winger Harvey Barnes for an undisclosed fee.
“The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract.”
Barnes, who travelled to Tyneside last week to undergo a medical, is the third addition to a squad which finished fourth in last season’s Premier League with AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali and Odense striker Yankuba Minteh, who has been sent out on loan to Feyenoord, having arrived earlier this month.
A graduate of the Foxes’ Academy, he made 187 appearances for the club, which was relegated to the Sky Bet Championship at the end of last season, and is an FA Cup winner as well as a full England international.
Barnes, who scored 13 Premier League goals for City during the 2022-23 season, said: “I’m delighted. It’s an amazing club and for me it’s a massive opportunity to come and be involved in a successful team that’s doing exciting things, so I’m absolutely buzzing to be here.
“I think it’s an attacker’s dream to come into a team like this; it’s high paced, it’s physically demanding, but you can see the rewards of that with the chances and the goals scored, so I think I’ll certainly suit the style.”
Barnes’ capture is reward for the Magpies’ persistence and head coach Eddie Howe was delighted to have finally got his man.
Howe said: “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.”
Leicester thanked the player for his contribution during his time with the club.
A statement said: “After a proud 16-year association with Leicester City, Harvey departs with the thanks of all friends and colleagues at the football club for his contribution during that time and best wishes for his future career.”
Barnes’ arrival is likely to signal the departure of Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin, who was left out of the party which has travelled to the United States for the inaugural Premier League Summer Series as he held talks over his future having been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
Haaland pinpoints collective Man City quality after four-goal blitz of Wolves
Erling Haaland blasted four goals past Wolves in a one-man Premier League show but the Manchester City forward says it would not be possible without manager Pep Guardiola or his team-mates.
The City talisman took his top-flight tally to 25 for this season, moving five clear of his nearest challenger in the Premier League Golden Boot race, after Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of Wolves.
Haaland was twice on target from the penalty spot as part of his first-half hat-trick, adding another after the interval with an arrowed strike into the top-left corner.
It was the first time the Norway star has managed four goals in one Premier League game, with his quartet of strikes coming in 54 minutes. Only Gabriel Jesus has scored as many earlier in one match, doing so in 53 minutes against Watford in April 2022.
Haaland also became the third player to score multiple first-half hat-tricks in Premier League history (also against Nottingham Forest last season), along with Andrew Cole and Michael Owen (two each).
Yet the superstar attacker says his exploits would not be possible without his City colleagues or boss Guardiola.
"I've got a not-too-bad manager who pushes me and look at the players around me," Haaland told Sky Sports when asked about his motivations.
"Without them, it would not be possible. Look ahead, look to next one – four finals left for the season. We're going to go for it and focus on Fulham."
It was Haaland's sixth Premier League hat-trick for City, with only seven players netting more in the competition’s history. All six of those trebles have been at the Etihad, only three have more at a single venue.
Haaland's second strike came from a towering header following Rodri's right-wing centre, which he suggested would delight his father Alfie.
"That's a beautiful goal," the Norwegian said of his headed finish. "My father is going to be happy with that one.
"A nice celebration, I enjoyed that one. I'm scoring more headers, I try to develop and keep going."
City are within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal and Guardiola's side still have a game in hand against Tottenham on May 14.
Despite the thrashing of Wolves, Haaland insists Guardiola remains intent on winning the remaining games, rather than calculating the probabilities needed on goal difference.
"First of all it's about winning the games but, of course, you want to have the best possible goal difference," he added. "Let's not think about that. Think about Fulham."
Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Early Riquelme strike earns narrow win
Atletico Madrid closed in on a Champions League spot after winger Rodrigo Riquelme's early strike earned his side a 1-0 win at Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday.
With four games remaining, Diego Simeone's side are fourth in the standings on 67 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who beat Getafe on Friday.
There was an end-of-the-season feel at a half-empty Son Moix stadium with both teams lacking urgency in a lacklustre match, with the only standout moment being Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute, which ultimately secured the win for the visitors.
Riquelme pounced on a loose ball in the edge of the box and cleared two defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike just inside the right post.
Data Debrief: Mallorca's blunt attack easily stopped
Mallorca mustered an expected goals of just 0.24 in this game, and they have now failed to score in 15 of their 34 league games this season. Only Cadiz (17) have failed to score more often in the competition this term.
That is despite the hosts having attempted 526 passes in this game, their highest total in a single league match this season.
Sassuolo 1-0 Inter: Serie A champions suffer surprise defeat
Inter suffered only their second defeat in Serie A this season as a first-half goal by Armand Lauriente gave relegation-threatened Sassuolo a crucial 1-0 victory.
Sassuolo have a unique hold over Simone Inzaghi's side this season, as the only team to beat Inter in the league, having secured a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture in September.
The result was a big boost in Sassuolo's battle against relegation, as they sit second from bottom on 29 points, with only three points between them and Cagliari in 14th place.
Lauriente got the only goal of the match after 20 minutes when Josh Doig managed to wrestle the ball back from Denzel Dumfries near the corner flag and pulled it back, with Sassuolo's matchwinner on hand to slot into the net from close range.
Data Debrief: Long time coming
This was the first time Inter have lost a league match against a team in the bottom two of the standings since way back in November 2014. On that occasion, they went down 2-0 to Parma.
Lauriente, meanwhile, has scored four Serie A goals since the beginning of April, a joint-record in the period in the top-flight (level with Hakan Calhanoglu).
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
