Tottenham News Scout: Signing Harvey Barnes for around £40m would be smart business for Tottenham
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome Matthew Chadder as our exclusive columnist for our ‘Spurs Scout’ features. Each week, he’ll be providing his expertise on researching players to give insight on the biggest talking points at Spurs…
Leicester City star Harvey Barnes has been linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium following the club’s relegation to the Championship, with Tottenham reportedly interested in the winger’s services.
Barnes’ 13 Premier League goals were not enough to keep his side safe as Leicester were surprisingly relegated from England’s top flight just seven years after they shocked the world by winning the competition.
Now Barnes, who was handed his Leicester debut six and a half years ago by the same man who took them to Premier League glory, Claudio Ranieri, is set to potentially play his football elsewhere.
Journalist Matt Law has claimed on the Last Word on Spurs podcast (7 June) that Tottenham are interested in the Burnley-born player who could be set to swap life in the East Midlands for London.
“Harvey Barnes is genuinely of interest, I know that for sure. He’s not a top target I think maybe there are a few players on lists and Harvey Barnes is within them at the moment. I don’t think he’s necessarily top of the list. It would also depend on the price,” Law said.
“If the price began with a three, rather than four, I think Tottenham might bump him up the list a little bit. But Barnes is definitely of interest, I can tell you that.”
In response to this news, the Spurs Scout has been having a look into Barnes to determine whether or not he would be the right fit for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou.
Superpower – Goalscorer supreme
Any player that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp brands as “unbelievable” is bound to have a thing or two going for them.
Ahead of his side’s clash with the Foxes in February 2021, Klopp singled out Barnes for some particularly high praise.
As reported by The Metro (12 February 2021) the German told the press in a pre-match conference, “Barnes is probably one of the biggest talents, I’m not sure if he is respected or appreciated as much as he should be, he is an unbelievable player to be honest, a proper Leicester product.”
That is extraordinary praise to receive from anyone, but to hear it from one of the league’s great managers surely gives it extra meaning, and Barnes’ goalscoring numbers certainly support those claims.
In his 146 Premier League appearances, Barnes has netted 35 times, giving him a goal-to-game ratio of 0.24. To put that number into perspective, that is a higher ratio than Bukayo Saka (0.23) and slightly less than the likes of Riyad Mahrez (0.29) and Marcus Rashford (0.32).
This is particularly impressive when you consider the teams those players are a part of compared to Barnes and if you add to that the fact that Barnes has played the majority of his career on the left wing (transfermarkt), while Saka and Rashford in particular play much further forward, it really demonstrates the player’s fantastic goalscoring prowess.
Even last season, despite being involved in a relegation battle, Barnes was still able to strike above his league career average and register 0.43 goals per 90, placing him in the 87th percentile compared to his positional peers (FBREF).
If Barnes was given the opportunity at a club fighting higher up the table, such as Tottenham, his goalscoring numbers would no doubt improve.
Weakness – Poor passing
For as brilliant as the wide player’s goalscoring stats and figures are, his passing numbers tell a completely different story.
As per FBREF, Barnes was in the lower 50 percentile for all passing metrics last season, and in the bottom 25 for many of them. For example, he completed just 18.23 passes per 90, which placed him in the 15th percentile.
This suggests that at times the player could be considered slightly greedy, and someone who holds on to the ball for longer than they should rather than looking up and picking out a teammate.
This is supported by the fact that he made just 0.63 key passes per 90 which put him in the shockingly low fourth percentile for this particular statistic.
However, while this is an issue on paper and something to focus on improving, if Barnes is playing in an environment with more quality around him than he had last season, those statistics might drastically shoot up.
How much will Barnes cost?
According to Law, as reported in the Telegraph (8 June), Leicester are thought to value Barnes at around the £40million mark with London rivals West Ham one of the other clubs interested in his services.
However, relegation might force the Foxes to bring that price down with the Hammers expected to start the bidding with an offer of around £30million.
As Law mentioned, Spurs would be more interested in a figure that begins with a three rather than a four, and if they can negotiate with Leicester, there is no reason why the club couldn’t afford the price tag which is being quoted.
Where will Barnes fit in at Tottenham?
Incoming manager Postecgolou is known to prefer operating with a 4-3-3 formation and utilising wide wingers. There is no reason why Barnes couldn’t adapt and fit into this system, however, he would need to add certain elements to his game.
Postecoglou likes his wingers to occupy their full-back and be able to beat them in a one-on-one. Last season Barnes completed just 0.90 successful take-ons per 90, and this is something the winger would have to improve upon.
However, if he is able to work on that side of his game and learn from the likes of Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulusevski, there is no real reason why the Englishman couldn’t be successful at Tottenham, even if it is as a player who rotates in and out of the squad.
Should Tottenham buy Barnes?
Based on his numbers and the reported fee it would cost to bring Barnes to North London, it does seem worth the gamble. He is a player with potential who still has room to improve.
Yet, if Tottenham weren’t to land the player it wouldn’t be considered a disaster by any means. While he does have quality and would be a smart signing, there are other positions on the pitch where Spurs would perhaps be better off spending the bulk of their transfer budget.
Daniel Levy doesn’t often spend £30/40million on multiple players during one transfer window, and if this was to be one of Spurs’ bigger signings this summer, it would not be the right call.
Tottenham should buy Barnes, as long as he is one of many, not one of few.
In other Tottenham news, another winger with Tottenham experience already should be considered.