Newcastle accelerate fan favourite’s exit to help snatch goal machine away from West Ham

Newcastle are ready to cash in on a fan favourite who is in talks with Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli, and the exit will help the Magpies beat West Ham to a goal-hungry winger, per reports.

It’s been a curiously quiet window thus far up at St. James’ Park, with just two arrivals sanctioned. Sandro Tonali is the headline attraction and will bring class to the engine room. Elsewhere, 18-year-old winger, Yankuba Minteh, cost around £6m to pluck from Danish side Odense BK.

With a first return to the Champions League since 2003 on the horizon, Newcastle must make further quality additions in the market.

Failure to do so could leave Eddie Howe’s side struggling to compete on two fronts amid the more congested fixture list.

One player Newcastle have shown interest in is Leicester and England winger, Harvey Barnes. The 25-year-old looks certain to be on the move this summer following the Foxes’ relegation to the Championship.

West Ham too like what they’ve seen from Barnes in recent times, and with good reason too.

Indeed, Barnes has hit double figures for goals across all competitions in each of his last three seasons at Leicester.

He notched 13 in the Premier League alone last season, finishing ahead of the likes of Son Heung-min, Alexander Isak and Bruno Fernandes in the top scorers chart.

A brief update from Sky Sports on Tuesday confirmed West Ham are ‘keen’ on adding Barnes to their ranks. Declan Rice’s £105m switch to Arsenal has given David Moyes and his recruitment team a war-chest to spend.

However, according to talkSPORT, Newcastle won’t go down without a fight and are preparing to axe Allan Saint-Maximin to fund a move.

The French maverick is a fan favourite in the north east, though does tend to lack for end product. Indeed, in 111 EPL matches for Newcastle, Saint-Maximin has racked up just 12 league goals.

By contrast, Barnes scored 13 times in the league last season and that was with a club who struggled from first day to last.

talkSPORT state Saint-Maximin’s camp are in the early stages of negotiating a move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli. If the move were greenlit, Saint-Maximin could form a dazzling front three with Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez.

In any case, it’s reiterated Newcastle would use the Saint-Maximin money to part-fund a move for Barnes. The Leicester ace is expected to cost roughly £35m to sign.

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