Newcastle agree deal with Leicester City to sign Harvey Barnes

Newcastle United have agreed a fee worth around £38 million with Leicester City for attacker Harvey Barnes, according to The Athletic.

Personal terms between the winger and Newcastle should not be a problem. He could sign on the dotted line before the end of this week.

Newcastle have been eyeing a deal for Barnes all summer but faced competition from Premier League rivals Aston Villa and West Ham United.

However, they have beaten out competition from the duo for the 25-year-old, who finished as Leicester’s top scorer last season. 

Despite the club’s relegation to the Championship, he scored 13 goals and assisted five more in 34 appearances.

Barnes is a graduate the Leicester’s academy, debuting in 2016. He has made 187 appearances in all competitions, netting 45 goals.

Leicester City must cut their wages following the drop to the second division and have started selling their stars. They sold James Maddison to Tottenham Hotspur and signed Harry Winks from the North Londoners. 

Also, they have let go of Johnny Evans, who re-joined Manchester United on a short-term deal. 

Furthermore, Youri Tielemans left for Aston Villa after his contract with the Foxes expired this summer. Ayoze Perez, Caglar Soyuncu, Nampalys Mendy, Daniel Amartey and Ryan Bertrand followed him out of the door.

Leicester will have to rebuild their squad from scratch as they toil in the Championship for the first time since 2014.  

Apart from Winks, they have added Conor Coady from Wolverhampton Wanderers to provide cover and experience in defence.

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca is reportedly after Chelsea starlet Cesare Casadei. The Italian midfielder will likely leave the Blues on loan for game time and experience, and Leicester have put themselves in pole position for his signature.

They have not formally approached Chelsea for Casadei, but they have him on their radar.

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