Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has backed Harvey Barnes to fill the void left by Anthony Gordon on the left-hand side of the Magpies’ attack.
Gordon was shown a straight red card in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton, ruling him out of the Toon’s next three games. The first of those was against West Ham United on Monday night with the former Leicester City man given the nod.
Barnes, who arrived at St. James’ Park for a reported fee in excess of £30million, has struggled for regular game time since his move to the North East. Injuries have played their part, but the form of Gordon has also been a major factor.
Howe has a number of big decisions to make ahead of the Carabao Cup Final next weekend, with Barnes given an opportunity to impress against West Ham.
“It’s a great opportunity for Harvey,” Howe said. “Back from injury only recently himself but I hope he goes well.
“I think he’s someone that we really believe in, he’s been a bit frustrated with his lack of opportunities in the Premier League because of the form of Anthony Gordon.
“Both vying for that left-hand side position but with Anthony’s suspension now, I really back Harvey I think he’s a real goalscoring threat. Back from injury only recently himself but I hope he goes well.”
Howe was also asked about the battle to be Newcastle number one with Nick Pope coming into the side in recent weeks, despite Martin Dubravka’s fine run of form in his absence.
The Magpies boss said: “Nick has started the last two Premier League games for us so he continues in goal. It’s a battle for places at the moment, not just in that position [goalkeeper] but in various other positions in the team.
“That’s because our form hasn’t been quite what we wanted it to be. I’m hoping that push for selection inspires everyone to perform better although we don’t have a lot of depth in the squad. You can see on our bench tonight, we’ve got young Sean Neave coming in, we’ve still got quality in positions that the starting team possess.”
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