Harvey Barnes has only been at Newcastle United for a couple of weeks but the former Leicester City forward marked his home debut with a brace in the Sela Cup win over Villarreal
Harvey Barnes is pleased to have already scored his first goals for Newcastle United after netting a brace on his home debut. The summer signing’s double helped the Magpies lift the Sela Cup as Eddie Howe’s side followed victory against Fiorentina with a thumping 4-0 win over Villarreal on Sunday.
Barnes looked lively throughout, and was rewarded for an encouraging display with two strikes in front of the Gallowgate End. The 26-year-old netted 13 times in the Premier League last term in Leicester City’s failed bid to avoid relegation, and the forward admits he was pleased to get off the mark quickly in black-and-white.
Barnes told NUFC TV: “For me, it was a good experience playing at home, it was nice to box it off with two goals. It’s nice to get your first goal out of the way, the pressure is off and you can go and enjoy yourself now.
“I think it’s important. You want to come in and make that first impression as an attacking player. My job in this team is to score goals, create goals and help the team out in whichever way I can. Today [Sunday] was good to help out with a couple of goals, and it should lead to a load of confidence.”
Barnes was the second senior summer arrival at St James’ Park, with the one-cap England international following Sandro Tonali through the door. The £38 million deal was concluded during Newcastle’s pre-season tour of the USA, and the forward insists he already feels at home after scoring just a fortnight after joining the club.
Barnes said: “It feels like I’ve been here a lot longer already. I feel like I’ve settled in really well. They are a great bunch of lads, it’s been so easy to settle in and it feels like home already. For me, it’s going to be a really good platform to have a great season with the lads, and I’m feeling really good.”
Barnes’ brace adds to the selection headache now facing Howe ahead of the season opener against Aston Villa on Saturday. Anthony Gordon is also in contention to start following his fine pre-season form, and the summer signing admits he ‘can’t wait to get started’.
“It’s going to be great to play in front of them with the support behind me. It’s going to be an exciting season for us all, there’s a lot going on so I just can’t wait to get started.
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