- Aston Villa target Newcastle United winger
- £38 million bid could be enough for Magpies to green light exit
- Eddie Howe already set to lose Anthony Gordon
Aston Villa could strengthen their squad for the Champions League next season with a £38 million swoop for a Newcastle United star. That move could leave the Magpies with somewhat of an attacking crisis.
Unai Emery has enjoyed a historic season at Villa Park. The Midlands outfit combined a fourth-place finish in the Premier League with a convincing Europa League final win over SC Freiburg last week.
It’s a contrasting story to the dismal run-in for Newcastle, which left the Tyneside outfit with a bottom-half finish and no European football next season.
Aston Villa plot £38 million Newcastle United swoop
The lack of action on the continent next term will make Eddie Howe’s side vulnerable to losing key players. Anthony Gordon already appears to be licking his lips at the thought of Bavarian beer with personal terms agreed with Bayern Munich.
Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento are also linked with big-money moves away from St James’ Park. One player whose name has so far been away from transfer rumours is Harvey Barnes, but that has now changed.
The Daily Mail reports that Aston Villa are plotting a summer move for the winger. Barnes has struggled to cement a place in the starting XI under Howe this season but nonetheless returned an impressive 16 goals and six assists across all competitions.
That’s the same attacking output as Bayern-linked Gordon and has not gone unnoticed by Villa, who believe that Barnes would strengthen their squad to compete in the Champions League.
The former Leicester City man cost the Magpies £38 million three years ago and it’s claimed that an offer of around that sum could tempt Newcastle into a sale with just two years remaining on the player’s contract.
Harvey Barnes departure could leave Newcastle in crisis
Aston Villa are said to be willing to listen to offers of around £80 million for England international Morgan Rogers and that sum would more than cover a move to bring Barnes to the club.
Should Barnes depart St James’ Park, as well as Gordon, it would leave Howe with somewhat of an attacking crisis. In a season that has lacked attacking flair, the duo contributed a combined 44 goal contributions.
Even if the club invests in replacements to help Jacob Murphy and Anthony Elanga out on the flanks, losing players who have managed consistency amid turbulent times could be catastrophic.
What’s more, no club knows better than Newcastle how hard it is to replace proven Premier League talismen, with the £120 million spent on duo Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa last summer only leading to 14 goals.
Howe knows just how important Barnes is to his side too. Speaking after the winger bagged a brace against Leeds United in January, the Newcastle manager said: “It’s a brilliant return from someone who has always had the ability to score, always been a very, very good finisher, we see that in training consistently. It’s just great to see him getting the rewards on a game day.
“His two goals today were excellent and really pleasing for me because one comes off one side, one comes off the other, so he’s showing versatility.”
In other news, Next Newcastle United Manager Odds: Fulham and Crystal Palace bosses among candidates as Eddie Howe addresses future.
