Exclusive: Barnes outlines 'dream' of playing for England, says Guimaraes 'committed' to Newcastle

Harvey Barnes has had a frustrating season with injuries but the Newcastle winger insists he can still finish the campaign on a high and help Eddie Howe’s side achieve their goals.

The 26-year-old – who was signed from Leicester last summer for a fee reported to be around £39 million – made a blistering start to his career at Newcastle with a goal and an assist in the statement 5-1 win over Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the campaign.

However, in September, he was forced off after just 12 minutes at Sheffield United after tearing ligaments under his toe, ruling him out for four months – missing 26 games in total.

Having to contend with a remarkable number of injuries to his squad, Magpies boss Howe – who described the situation as “unprecedented” in November – has fallen significantly short of helping the club retain their place in the UEFA Champions League.

With Barnes back fit and firing, he believes he can contribute to Newcastle finishing the season on a high.

“Even though we’ve had a lot of problems this year, we still find ourselves in a really good position,” he told TNT Sports in an exclusive interview. “We’ve got seven games left, so it’s important to finish as high in the league as we can, and Europe is a great target for us.

“It sets us up for next season if we can get that, so it’s about picking up as many points as we can and give ourselves the best chance.

“After a tough season for the team, with the injuries, all these factors, we still find ourselves in a position where we can finish really strongly and still achieve some great things this year.”

Summing up his emotions after coming off the bench to score twice in the enthralling win over West Ham in March, Barnes continued: “Personally for me it was such a great day with scoring two goals.

“Helping the team is something I’ve obviously not been able to do much this year with the injuries. So that made the moment even more special.

“It’s something I know I’m capable of doing on the pitch, but this year has been so frustrating, not having those opportunities to go and showcase to the team and fans, and help the team out in that way.”

A 20-yard strike in added time was a particularly special way to secure all three points for Newcastle.

“It was one of those where you know you’ve hit it so well it’s going to go in. It was obviously a good strike. To score a last-minute winner is great but in that sort of fashion, it was amazing,” beamed Barnes.

In each of the last three seasons, Barnes has hit double figures in terms of goals scored and the Burnley native admits that contributing in attack has been something he has worked hard on during his career.

“It’s always something I have demanded of myself,” he said.

“Goals are something I know I need to bring to the team. I love scoring goals, there’s no better feeling as an attacking player than contributing to the team, scoring goals or getting assists.

“They are the moments that you play for, really.”

“Ant has had a really good season so that was definitely something he deserved. It’s obviously a great moment for him to make his England debut,” he said of Gordon’s call-up.

“His team-mates and the manager were really proud of him for that, it’s a great achievement and it’s been a pleasure to play with him this year.”

On his own international ambitions, Barnes continued: “There’s definitely pathways in there when you play well and hit a bit of form.

“As long as you are doing it for your club and showing everyone why you can be in there, the manager [Gareth Southgate] will pick you. He’s shown that over the years, so personally, yeah, hopefully I can finish the season strongly and give myself a great summer going into next season.

“I think for sure I can have an impact for Newcastle and have a great season next year which can hopefully lead on to that process.

“Of course that’s the dream of any player to play for England and I believe when I’m playing well enough there’s no reason why I can’t be involved.”

Barnes is clearly settling in well in the North East but there has been speculation that two of the club’s star players, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak, could depart this summer.

Guimaraes – who only signed a new five-year contract with Newcastle last October – has only missed one Premier League game so far this season, while Isak has netted 15 goals in 23 league games.

But Barnes has no worries about either player, insisting they are “fully committed”.

He said: “I think we can see week in and week out the quality they can bring. They’re big players for us and they’ve been consistently good this year which has been important for us.

“I think you can see from playing with them on the training pitch week in and week out that they’re fully committed and happy here. As players, that’s all we can really take from that. They have shown no signs of anything else.

“You want to keep the best players at the club. Until something changes in that aspect we’ll enjoy playing with them and enjoy playing as a team.”

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