According to reports, West Ham is looking to add a wide attacker this summer and has targeted Harvey Barnes of Leicester City as a possible candidate. When Declan Rice departs, the Hammers will intensify their chase of Barnes, who has been linked to both Arsenal and Manchester City, according to the Times.
Arsenal made an initial offer for the 24-year-old player, but it was rejected, and City will now make an independent attempt to get him. Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian asserted that talks involving Leicester and Barnes, who has been valued at £40 million by the Foxes, had started.
Barnes is without a doubt one of the top players that the Hammers will likely be able to acquire as a result of Rice’s transfer. Despite having excellent Premier League goal scoring numbers last season, he drew little notice as a result of Leicester’s continuous troubles.
After West Ham owner David Sullivan announced that Declan Rice will be departing the club during this transfer window, the London Stadium is expected to be quite busy this summer. West Ham plans to buy English winger Harvey Barnes with the extra money they get as a result of Rice’s sale to big names likes Arsenal, who are currently leading the race to sign rice this summer.
Does Barnes Have What It Takes to Replace Rice?
Barnes scored 12 goals for a team that was relegated, which was just two more than Bukayo Saka did for title challengers Arsenal in his finest season. This team, led by Lucas Paqueta and presumably a capable center midfielder, will be interesting to watch in transition with Jarrod Bowen on the right and Barnes on the left.
Barnes has also been linked to Tottenham Hotspur, therefore it is unclear if he can be signed. Since moving to the Midlands team from Barnsley in 2018, Barnes has played a key role in the team, scoring 45 goals and making 32 appearances in 187 games, mostly from the left wing position. The elusive winger, who has played in one international match for England, was a vital part of the Leicester team that won the FA Cup in 2021 by defeating Manchester City 1-0 in the championship game at Wembley Stadium.
Barnes, who is being praised by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp as a “unbelievable player”. Harvey Barnes loves to play one-two passes with his inside forward in a David Moyes style where the striker usually has his back to goal holding up play. The player’s quickness is one of his strongest qualities. His top speed of 35.44 km/h last season was good enough for sixth position among Premier League midfielders.
West Ham would surely benefit greatly from his lightning-quick pace over Said Benrahma on the left wing. This demonstrates that Barnes can excel even in a bad squad and that he can surely repeat these results and do much better at West Ham.
