Latest Leicester City transfer news as Harvey Barnes’ move to Newcastle United is ‘moving slowly’ amid interest from Aston Villa and West Ham

A transfer deal that would see Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes join Newcastle United is “moving pretty slowly”, it has been claimed.

Barnes has been heavily linked with a move to Newcastle, while their Premier League rivals Aston Villa and West Ham are also apparently interested in signing the City academy graduate. He looks certain to move on this summer after relegation to the Championship.

Leicester and Newcastle are yet to agree a fee for the 25-year-old, with reports suggesting the clubs are somewhat apart on their valuations of Barnes. City have valued Barnes at £60million in the past, while Newcastle have been linked with a £25million bid.

According to BBC Sport, a move to Newcastle is slow-moving, and Leicester do not want to be “held to ransom” over a transfer fee. Leicester have already sold James Maddison to Tottenham for £40million, with other players likely to head for the exit door during the transfer window.

City get their pre-season fixture schedule under way at Northampton Town this week, while Newcastle travel to Gateshead. It remains to be seen where Barnes will be playing at the weekend, but it looks like he could be continuing to work with Enzo Maresca and his City teammates for a little while yet.

Barnes scored 13 goals in 34 Premier League appearances last season, assisting one goal. In the season prior, he scored six and set up 10 so is an established Premier League player.

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Reports said last week that the Magpies were closing in on a deal for the winger but conflicting reports over their budget mean there’s not really much clarity on just how far along a move could be.

Now, fresh claims on the situation have emerged from the Daily Mail.

They state that Newcastle are struggling to match Leicester City’s £40m valuation as they look to balance their budget due to FFP. The groundwork has been done on a deal, putting them ahead of other admirers, but work is to be done before it can be finalised.

Manchester United are also admirers of Barnes, as are Europa Conference League winners West Ham.

It seems inevitable that Barnes moves on from Leicester City this summer. He’s someone who can definitely move to a side in European football and for a good price at that. The work Newcastle United have done to put a deal together seemingly means they’re still best placed to sign him, even if they perhaps need to raise some more funds first.