Man City defender undergoes Leicester medical ahead of loan move

Callum Doyle will join Leicester for this season as former Manchester City coach Enzo Maresca has snapped up the talented defender.

Doyle, 19, enjoyed an impressive year at Sunderland two seasons ago before following that up with Coventry, with another excellent campaign that saw him named their Young Player of the Season ending in heartbreaking fashion as they lost 6-5 on penalties to Luton in the play-off final. The centre-back is also involved in the England youth set-up and played recently for the Under-20s.

Maresca had said when he took the Leicester job that he would be interested in signing a few players after a previous stint in the City academy, and despite some discussions over a permanent move has instead moved to sign up Doyle – pending a medical on Wednesday – for the upcoming year on loan. The pair gelled when they worked together in the 2020/21 side when the defender made 14 appearances for the coach and was part of both the Under-18s and Under-23s that won their respective leagues.

In a sign of how much City rate the youngster, who is contracted until 2027, there will be no option to buy for the Foxes. As much as Maresca can enjoy the reliability of a player schooled in the City academy, the Blues were happy to send one of their top prospects to a manager who works from the same textbook as Pep Guardiola and the coaching staff at the Etihad.

City will make at least £25.5m from two more academy players when the deals for James Trafford (£15m) to go to Burnley and Shea Charles (£10.5m) to go to Southampton are finalised. There will also be an additional £8.5m in performance-related payments as well as transfer clauses that can enable City to ensure more control of the futures of each player.

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Further talks have taken place in the past 48 hours between Newcastle United and Leicester City as the Magpies look to beat others to Harvey Barnes’ signature, according to The Times.

His performances during the 2022/23 campaign could earn him a move back to the top level of English football in time for the start of next season though, with Leicester needing to balance the book as they adapt to the financial challenges of the Championship.

Already selling James Maddison, the Foxes have shown a willingness to cash in on players at the right price, but Barnes still has two years left on his contract and that could persuade Leicester to take a hard stance at the negotiating table.

What is the latest on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Harvey Barnes?

The Times have revealed that talks have taken place this week between the two sides – and there’s a chance that a deal could potentially be agreed this week according to the same outlet.

It’s believed that a deal in the region of £35m could potentially be struck, which is £5m lower than Leicester’s reported valuation of the player.

The Daily Mail had reported that Newcastle may struggle to secure a deal – but this recent article from The Times suggests the Magpies will be able to cough up the money required to lure him to St James’ Park if a compromise can be reached.

What is Harvey Barnes’ transfer stance?

Football League World understands a move to the capital would appeal to the Englishman if he did move on from the King Power Stadium this summer.

However, other interested sides including West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur are seemingly behind Newcastle in the queue at this stage with the Magpies pushing to get a deal over the line.

It’s unclear whether Barnes would reject a move to Newcastle if that was the only exit option for him – but they may need to move quickly to get this deal over the line before a London-based team comes calling.

Is £35m a fair price for Harvey Barnes?

£35m is a very decent amount of money and that’s why Leicester should consider that bid if it came in.

However, if they want to secure £40m for him, the Foxes should try and keep the Magpies at the negotiating table a little longer because the former are in a strong position.

His contract doesn’t expire for another two years, so if they can secure an extra £5m or somewhere near that, that would be ideal.

But as mentioned, £35m is a hefty fee and if Newcastle pay most of that up front, Leicester may be wise to accept it.

Ideally, Enzo Maresca’s side will have the Barnes saga sorted before the start of the season because that means this speculation won’t linger on, but the only way they may be able to reduce speculation is if they sell him because it would be difficult to see him putting pen to paper on fresh terms whilst his side are in the second tier.