Newcastle United pushing for £40m transfer after 13-goal West Ham & Aston Villa target ‘accepts’ move

Newcastle’s first-team returned to pre-season training on Sunday and will make the short journey to Gateshead to face the National League side on Saturday (12:30pm kick-off). After securing a £52million deal for midfielder Sandro Tonali from AC Milan, The Magpies are now focusing on Barnes.

United have held an interest in Barnes for some time and are now preparing to make a move. While no formal bid or agreement between the clubs has been made, The Gazette understands Barnes is accepting of leaving Leicester to join Newcastle this summer.

The 25-year-old is keen on the prospect of Champions League football and is understood to be assessing properties in the North East ahead of a potential move. The Foxes want £40million for the winger who scored 13 Premier League goals in a relegation season and Newcastle will consider selling Allan Saint-Maximin in order to fund the transfer, as per The Telegraph.

West Ham United, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with an interest with Barnes returning to training at Leicester last week. On Friday, various reports suggested Newcastle were in advanced talks to sign the 25-year-old.

While Newcastle will try to push ahead with a deal this week, there is likely to be some period of negotiation between the two clubs but personal terms are not expected to be an issue. Despite Leicester previously offering wages outside of Newcastle’s current structure, Barnes is understood to be a player whose salary falls comfortably into The Magpies’ financial set-up.