EXCLUSIVE: Dan Ashworth meets Toon target on Tyneside as £38m man arrives early with agent
Harvey Barnes is on Tyneside and set to undergo a medical after seeing his proposed move to St
James’ Park accelerate over the past 24 hours.
We can exclusively reveal that the Leicester City star visited our Darsley Park training base
alongside his agent at around 4pm yesterday, where Dan Ashworth was present for an
introductory meeting with the 25-year-old.
That was followed by a brief consultation with the club’s medical team shortly after 5pm as a
precursor to his medical, which he is expected to complete in the next two days.
As we revealed yesterday, staff on Tyneside were expecting the winger to complete the
formalities over the weekend, but the deal has progressed quicker than first anticipated, with a
full agreement – worth a reported £38m – reached with Leicester shortly after Allan Saint-
Maximin’s move to Al-Ahli accelerated on Tuesday night.
Newcastle have acted fast, not only to land one of Eddie Howe’s leading targets, but to also
ensure the winger can join our pre-season trip to the USA.
Providing medical checks go smoothly, he could fly out to the USA over the weekend, giving him
an outside chance of featuring in our second fixture of the Premier League Summer Series; a
meeting with Chelsea in Atlanta on Thursday 27th July.
READ MORE:
Ian Maatsen makes statement on Chelsea future after two-goal display and Mauricio Pochettino talks
The 21-year-old scored the opening two goals in a 5-0 win over Wrexham in Mauricio
Pochettino’s first game in charge of the club.
Maatsen was one of a number of young players who have uncertain futures despite being on the
club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
Speaking after his star display, Maatsen revealed that he would ideally like to remain at Chelsea:
“I hope to come back here and show the fans and the manager what I am capable of.
“Of course, sometimes it is difficult [not knowing your future] but you try to do your best all the
time, stay calm and not stress.
Just think about football, ask a lot of questions about how to get better, how to improve yourself,
ask your teammates and help them as well.”
Maatsen played on the left-wing but is typically a left-back, a position he is further down the
pecking order due to competition from senior options Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella.
The Netherlands Under-21 international, who was on loan at Burnley last season, was relaxed
about playing out of position and said: “It is a position I can play. I can adapt really quick. I also
come in those positions when I play at left-back so for me it isn’t so difficult.”
He added: “A lot of competition is good for me as a player and for the others to work hard and stay focused.”
Maatsen also revealed he has spoken to Pochettino about his future but was keen to keep the
conversation private.
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