West Brom are lucky they got to taste what Leicester and Newcastle have with attacking ace | OneFootball

Harvey Barnes' time at the Hawthorns was short and sweet, but Albion fans will have loved every minute

Harvey Barnes has proven himself to be an incredible talent capable of carving Premier League defences apart when he is firing on all cylinders, with the 27-year-old even earning a solitary England cap back in 2020.

Having come up through the ranks at Leicester City, the wide man played over 150 times for the Foxes in the top flight, before departing for Newcastle United in the summer of 2023 as the former Premier League Champions dropped down into the second tier.

Ever since his early days at the King Power Stadium there was plenty of expectation on his shoulders, with loans to the EFL proving pivotal moments in his fledgling career, as he started to prove himself within the professional game.

While MK Dons and Barnsley can also pay testament to his talents while at the club, ti was his stint with West Bromwich Albion in the 18/19 season that saw him really come of age, as he made his mark in the best possible manner during his stint at The Hawthorns.

Harvey Barnes shines during West Bromwich Albion loan spell

Leicester had already tied their 20-year-old star down to a new four-year contract before they sent him out to join the Baggies six seasons ago, with Albion Boss Darren Moore only too happy to take the young star under his wing.

“He is an exciting young player - one that I think our supporters will enjoy watching,” the boss said to the club’s website at the time.

“We’ve got a lot of exciting youngsters at this club and Harvey now adds to that group.

“He’s got good experience of the Championship already and I am thrilled at the prospect of him adding his talents to our group. I couldn’t be happier that we have been able to bring him in.”

It didn’t take too long for the young loanee to make his mark in his new surroundings either, with a contender for goal of the season coming on the opening day, in a 2-1 defeat to Bolton Wanderers.

Picking the ball up on the right-hand side, the young talent marauded in towards the penalty area on his left foot, before unleashing a curling drive that picked out the top-left corner, leaving Ben Alnwick in goal clutching at thin air.

Albion had a special talent and they knew it. Barnes’ contributions would alter games on a weekly basis, with another eye-catching strike coming in a 4-3 win over Norwich City just weeks later, while defenders were continuously run ragged by his energy and tenacity on the flanks.

A midweek clash with Bristol City in September was the most convincing proof that Barnes was a step above the level, with two barnstorming runs and inch-perfect passes gifting goals to Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez, before taking up the goalscoring mantle himself in the second stanza, with a first-time finish of the utmost quality putting his side into a 4-0 lead.

Moore knew he had struck gold with the signing of the Leicester man, and over the next few weeks and months Barnes’ influence continued to grow, with a return of 15 goal contributions from his 26 appearances in the Championship testament to his ability at the time.

Leicester City's Harvey Barnes recall left West Brom empty-handed - he's gone on to better things since then though

It was no surprise that the Foxes were sniffing around trying to get their player back when the January transfer window opened, and that is exactly what happened as 2019 got underway, with Barnes’ last appearance coming in a 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.

While he didn’t score that day, he was felled for the Baggies’ penalty which Rodriguez converted, before waving goodbye to the Black Country for good, and setting up his stall in the Premier League for the remainder of the season.

City were still riding the crest of a wave from their improbable Premier League title win three seasons before, and were competing in the top-half of the top flight still at the time, with Barnes thrown straight into the mix for the second-half of the season.

Despite the step-up in level, the forward looked immediately at home in the top flight, and was having meaningful contributions back in his familiar surroundings, with a first Premier League goal coming against West Ham in April.

From there, the rest is history. With over 150 top flight matches under his belt, Barnes has proven himself to be a player capable of the sublime and outright stupendous at times, with a personal highlight reel of goals good enough to match anyone during his time with Leicester and now with Newcastle.

That spell at The Hawthorns will have helped him to take on the top flight and hit the ground running, with Albion lucky to have witnessed a star in the making during those few months they had together.