Newcastle are reportedly prepared to cash in on a relatively recent signing who is struggling for regular starts.
A mid-season shakeup may well be on the cards for Eddie Howe’s side, with a number of players touted for a potential exit as we head into January requiring sales to spend on first-team additions.
Here’s the latest, as Newcastle consider some tough business decisions to help us navigate within the frustrating world of PSR.
Barnes available if Newcastle receive big offer
The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards reports that Harvey Barnes is one of five who could depart this month in what would be a ‘shock exit’ in just his second season with the Magpies.
However, it would take a fee “in excess of £45 million” to acquire the 27-year-old at risk of being sacrificed for PSR reasons.
Barnes has struggled to nail down a first team spot with just six starts in the Premier League this season after arriving for over £35 million last July and is perhaps one of the ‘big’ players that we could afford to lose.
It has also been reported that Miguel Almiron is the “most likely” player to leave the club during the winter with interest from South America and the MLS. Sean Longstaff, Kieran Trippier and Martin Dubravka may depart too.
As far as Barnes goes, not many clubs would have the money available to spend in the midpoint of the season and it will prove difficult for a deal to be concluded – though if it is, it could finance a move for a right-winger down the line, with PSV’s Johan Bakayoko and Southampton star Tyler Dibling both heavily linked.
A peculiar signing?
Barnes is without doubt a good player and has performed for us when required, but it was a strange decision to sign another left-winger when Anthony Gordon had already been brought in for in excess of £40 million.
The thinking may have been that Gordon would be utilised on the right of the front three, but it’s now clearer than ever that he’s better suited to the left side, leaving Barnes at risk of being sacrificed if he frees up big money.
He was not a bad player to sign by any means – the quality is there – it’s just a little bit of a strange decision when other positions ranked higher on the priority list at the time.
Taking PSR into consideration Barnes feels somewhat disposable especially if we are to acquire the fee that he is valued at. If Barnes isn’t considered a starter, we must be ruthless and sanction the sale to free up funds to reinvest elsewhere.
Hardly a shock as it’s been mooted for well over a month.
Correcting the recency bias; when barnes was signed Gordon hadn’t nailed down lw and there were plenty (including lots on here) who were against Gordon. From the get-go howe referred to players versatility.
Barnes has a problem because simply Gordon is better, more established lw and resilient.
A sale makes sense if Barnes is keen for starts
Jonesy(Quote)
Unless Gordon gets injured? Then we have a ready made, quality replacement in Barnes.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
In an Ideal world we want a Harvey Barnes as the back up standard for every position. Unfortunately we are not there yet, so a sale might strenghten the starting 11 and provide the funs for potenttil t strengthen the back-ups
PremAndUp(Quote)
I think it would be a risk to sell Barnes unless he is pushing to move and is unhappy. He provides cover for Gordon, can play on the right and allows Gordon to play on the right or through the middle, he adds much needed versatility to the squad. we need a squad of players, not just 11 first choice players and nothing in reserve. if we sell him and Gordon gets injured, who plays? Even at £45m selling him is a risk. also, where has the Guehi money gone, we bid £65m but now we cannot afford anyone? not buying it
Myles(Quote)
True, but that’s a big luxury we probably can’t afford with PSR issues?
Olly Hawkins(Quote)
It is unlikely that anyone will pay 45 million for Barnes (especially in pounds). But I think it is possible to include the player in the exchange deal. For Mbeumo, for example
hmd(Quote)
When Barnes was bought, the team had Gordon, Willock, Andersen and Isak (who played left in attack sometimes). Lots of people on the left. It was a stupid idea by Howe, who needed a quality finisher. Leicester were relegated and Newcastle (Ashworth?) pounced on the victim like a vulture. But still paid the full amount. The stupidest transfer under Ashworth.
hmd(Quote)
Gordon isn’t better than Barnes. There may come a time he will be but until he becomes more decisive in final third – ie picking out a team mate or not blasting the ball into the stands then Barnes has the edge. That’s just by watching them play. Barnes has better numbers too, despite not starting as much as Gordon.
Martin(Quote)
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annths(Quote)
Edwards stories are more often than not just faked up stories he can fill content with .. I doubt barnes will be sold he is a great talent in a very good squad
Mike(Quote)
Murphy has two attributes – he can run fast and he crosses the ball into the box with his right (outside) foot. Other than that he is pretty skill-free. His success recently is due to the fact that Newcastle have played the three worst teams in the division(Leicester, Ipswich, Man U) who decided to play without left backs, leaving JM free to run unhindered. He has also played against a team that went down to 10 men after 20 mins, and a team that decided to leave its three best players on the bench (Brentford).
Gordon should play on the right as he is very unproductive on the left, particularly with regard to assists for Isak. He should be told to get the ball in the box as much as possible and skip shooting wastefully.
Barnes seems very similar to Gordon on the left continually coming inside. Those days are gone.
JC(Quote)
“Taking PSR into consideration Barnes feels somewhat disposable especially if we are to acquire the fee that he is valued at”
Not really. Taking PSR into consideration means that we’d need to consider the profit that the sale would generate, not the fee that he’s valued at. We only signed him about 18 months ago so only a small part of his transfer fee will have been written off (amortised) in the financial records to date, so his book value at the beginning of this financial year is likely to be more than 30 mil. Even if we were able to sell him for 35-40 mil it wouldn’t help much for the purposes of PSR
Chris Garrity(Quote)
In an ideal psr free world if Barnes was happy being a back up to Gordon you would want to keep him which would help us build a squad like the corrupt six have and become really competitive.
Unfortunately as long as there is Masters and other envious clubs who want to keep the status quo, that is not going to happen.
We have a player like Dubravka who doesn’t want to be backup to Pope and has already left us once for Manure, and who will leave us again when we most need him.
We can only manage the situation that is in front of us and try to improve the squad by being clever, getting rid of players at the right time which we have been abysmal at so far.
Joseph(Quote)
Not sure why we bought him when we had Elliott Anderson . Then forced to sell him under financial rules
Haz(Quote)
Cracking player, but a strange piece of business considering we had to sell Elliott Anderson 6 months later. How much would he cost to rebuild now..
Haz(Quote)