Leicester City face Newcastle United tonight, with Harvey Barnes in line to feature against his former side.
The 27-year-old attacker joined the Magpies in 2023 after Leicester’s relegation down to the Championship, with Barnes since going on to make over 50 appearances for Newcastle mainly acting as a backup option for Anthony Gordon.
In recent weeks, though, Barnes’ fortunes have turned around, with the winger starting for Eddie Howe’s side in the Carabao Cup final as Newcastle bested Liverpool 2-1 in a historic win for the Tyneside giants with the forward also starting and assisting in last week’s win against Brentford.
And speaking ahead of today’s game against Leicester, Howe has shared what Barnes used to do with the Foxes that led to Newcastle signing the attacker in 2023.
READ MORE: Leicester’s last five England internationals as Thomas Tuchel gears up for first squad announcement
Harvey Barnes ‘was a problem’ for Newcastle whilst at Leicester
Speaking to the press, the former AFC Bournemouth manager revealed how Barnes was always viewed as ‘a problem’ for Newcastle whenever the Toon faced Leicester, with the winger’s performances inspiring the Magpies to move for the attacker in 2023.
Although Barnes is yet to hit the heights many expected from the attacker since joining Newcastle, the 27-year-old has often shown sparks of his quality that made the winger as exciting a talent as he was at Leicester.
And it was these performances that led to Newcastle moving for Barnes, with Howe saying ahead of tonight’s game against Leicester: “I’m sure the game will mean a lot to Harvey. It was a very successful period for him at Leicester.
“I remember every time we played Leicester, he was a problem for us. They had a really good team at the time, a very iconic Leicester team, very, very strong and we always had really tough games against them, so I’m delighted that Harvey’s now with us.”
Leicester will hope Harvey Barnes doesn’t come back to haunt them
With Southampton this weekend becoming the first Premier League team to be confirmed as relegated, time is quickly running out for Leicester to mount a serious comeback in the standings if they’re to avoid the drop.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 31 | 9 | 5 | 17 | 43 | 59 | -16 | 32 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 31 | 4 | 8 | 19 | 31 | 65 | -34 | 20 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester | 30 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 25 | 67 | -42 | 17 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 31 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 23 | 74 | -51 | 10 |
And Barnes coming back to the King Power Stadium and potentially haunting the Foxes would be a worst-case scenario for Leicester, who will not want to lose yet another game at home by the hands of a former player.
Indeed, Newcastle are on a mission to finish in the top-four and to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, and Barnes and company will stop at nothing to achieve this goal, with Leicester in for a potentially tough match this evening.