West Ham & Aston Villa boosted by fresh £40m Newcastle United transfer twist

The Leicester City winger is valued at around £40million and is set to leave the club this summer following relegation from the Championship. Barnes has attracted plenty of interest for scoring 13 goals in 34 Premier League appearances for a side who finished 18th last season.

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 from Leicester City.

But The Gazette understands no bid has been made for Barnes with Sky Sports claiming that, while head coach Eddie Howe is very keen on the player, no formal talks have taken place.

Although nothing is imminent regarding Barnes’ potential move to Newcastle, it is a deal the club could look to do this summer with movement expected. According to Sky Sports, Howe highlighted Barnes as Leicester’s ‘danger man’ to his Newcastle players when the sides met.

The Magpies faced Leicester three times last season, winning 3-0 at the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day before knocking them out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage with a 2-0 win at St James’ Park. The 0-0 draw with The Foxes at home back in May saw United secure a top four finish and Champions League football.

And Barnes is understood to be keen on a move to Newcastle with the added incentive of playing in Europe’s elite club competition.