Harvey Barnes provides Newcastle United fitness update ahead of Chelsea & Brighton matches

Barnes hadn’t trained with his new team-mates but was introduced in the closing stages of Newcastle’s 3-3 draw with Aston Villa in the Premier League Summer Series in Philadelphia. The 25-year-old winger had an opportunity to win the match as his edge of the box effort was saved by Villa goalkeeper Robin Olsen.

But after missing training and pre-season matches at Leicester before his move to Newcastle, Barnes was pleased to be back out on the pitch.

“It was good [to play],” he said via Sky Sports. “I haven’t trained with the team and I haven’t done too many sessions recently either.

“So let’s get the legs going [against Aston Villa], a little bit rusty but over the next couple days I’m sure I’ll get that sharpness back and look forward to the next couple of games.

It’s great. I’ve been anticipating it the last couple of days so to finally be here and meet up with the lads was very [good].”

Newcastle face Chelsea in Atlanta on July 27 (1:15am kick-off BST) and Brighton & Hove Albion on July 29 (12:30am kick-off) while in the United States before returning to England.

And Barnes is hoping to play a more significant role in those matches as he gets back to full match sharpness while also integrating himself into the squad.

“Very [excited], we’ve got some big games coming up, good tests to get ready for the season so I think it’s the perfect way to bed in as well,” he added.

“Being away a week with the lads, [there’s] no better way to get to know them all and get yourself comfortable. It’s going to be a good week.”

Reflecting on his decision to join Newcastle, Barnes said: “It speaks for itself, it’s a massive club. We saw last year how successful the team was and you can see that they’re progressing year-by-year and as a player you want to be part of that and be on the journey with them.”