James Murray

Thu 13 July 2023 13:10, UK

West Ham are “alarmed” after Newcastle United have moved ahead of them in the race to sign Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes, according to Dean Jones.

The GiveMeSport transfer specialist claims Eddie Howe’s side have stolen a march on the Hammers and are now in a “good position” to sign the 25-year-old.

The Times has also reported that Barnes’ potential move to Tyneside has taken a significant step this week, with the deal rumoured to be worth about £35million.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said: “The intent is fully there. Newcastle began talks at the back end of last week to try and get this deal going.

“West Ham obviously want to be in this discussion, too. I think that they were a bit alarmed at the news that Newcastle are perhaps getting ahead of them on this one.

“But, from what I’ve heard, Newcastle are in a good position to sign Harvey Barnes. I also think he would be a good signing for them given the sort of valuations around it.”

Time for action

If this latest development doesn’t spark the West Ham hierarchy into action with regards to trying to bring Harvey Barnes to the club, then nothing will.

It appears as though Newcastle are now well-placed to secure a deal for the winger and it would be a disappointing blow for the Hammers to miss out on him.

Leicester being relegated to the Championship has opened up a superb opportunity for another Premier League side to come in and steal one of their prized assets for a relatively modest fee.

Despite the Foxes’ relegation, the pacey winger showed no sign that he was impacted by their poor performances last season, having recorded his best campaign on record by scoring 13 goals in 34 appearances.

West Ham are certainly in need of more options in the wide areas and we would be very foolish to let an opportunity like this pass by without doing everything to try and secure his services.

In other West Ham news, the Hammers’ hierarchy has been left fuming by another club’s drawn-out negotiations.