Newcastle United have signed England winger Harvey Barnes from Leicester City for a fee of about £38m.
The 25-year-old, capped once by England, has signed a five-year contract with the Magpies.
He is the club’s third signing of the summer following the arrivals of forward Yankuba Minteh and Italian international midfielder Sandro Tonali.
“I think it’s an attacker’s dream to come into a team like this,” Barnes 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.”
Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League last season and in 2023-24 will be playing in the Champions League for the first time since 2003-04.
“Harvey is an exciting talent who I have admired for a long time so I’m delighted to welcome him to Newcastle United,” said Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe.
“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.”
Barnes is the latest player to leave the Foxes after their relegation from the Premier League.
He made 146 Premier League appearances for Leicester, scoring 35 goals and creating 25 assists.
Despite scoring 13 league goals in 2022-23, he could not save them from dropping into the Championship.
His departure comes after James Maddison moved to Tottenham in a £40m deal, while fellow midfielder Youri Tielemans and defender Caglar Soyuncu left on free transfers, joining Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid respectively.
Analysis
Harry De Cosemo, BBC Sport
The arrival of Harvey Barnes is further evidence of how opportunistic Newcastle have been this summer.
Similarly to the purchase of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, their first major signing of the summer, Barnes wasn’t high on Newcastle’s priority list as they initially hunted a right midfielder.
But the winger’s work-rate and eye for goal, having scored 13 times in the Premier League for Leicester last season, was enough for Newcastle to move for him once his price became clear and the imminent departure of French winger Allan Saint-Maximin gathered pace.
Barnes will slot into the attack perfectly, with high energy, direct running and a consistent threat.
This is yet more evidence of the measured approach to recruitment on Tyneside, despite increased spending power following the 2021 Saudi Arabia-backed takeover of the club.
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