Report: Newcastle admirers of 25-year-old forward who has taken finishing tips directly from Alan Shearer
According to The Mail, Newcastle are admirers of Harvey Barnes heading into the summer transfer window.
The Magpies have been linked with a plethora of new attacking players as we approach the summer, and now, Barnes appears to be another name on their radar.
With Allan Saint-Maximin continuously being linked with a move to AC Milan, a new left-winger may soon be needed at St James’ Park, and Barnes could be just what the doctor ordered.
A player who has electric pace, smart movement and a brilliant first-touch, Barnes would fit Eddie Howe’s style of play like a glove.
Of course, there is plenty to be said about Barnes’ finishing. He may have scored eight Premier League goals in a struggling Leicester City side this season, but there’s always been a feeling that Barnes squanders way too many of his chances.
Luckily, he has improved in this area in recent years, and his improvement has come off the back of taking tips from Alan Shearer.
Shearer did a definitive breakdown of Barnes’ finishing on Match of the Day back in 2019, and after this analysis, Barnes said he would take what the Newcastle legend said on board.
“I don’t think you can ignore that when the person it’s coming from has that ability,” Barnes said.
“There are all sorts of advice and finishing tips coming from everywhere. You learn from Vards on the training pitch, the manager has always got things to add. It’s always about learning.
“All the time in training we’re working on finishing. It’s just not quite dropping at the minute.
“You see with a lot of players, they have bad spells in front of goals. There are times where you are doing everything right and it’s not going in, and then there are times when you’re not doing much right but the ball keeps going in. I’m not worried about that.”
Since then, Barnes has improved in front of goal, but there are still a few forwards steps that he could make, and that’s where a move to Newcastle could help him.
Eddie Howe has a real knack of getting the most out of his attacking players – just look at Miguel Almiron’s form this season, and if he can do the same sort of work with Barnes, the Magpies could have one of the Premier League’s deadliest attackers on their hands.
