Leicester City should recall Harvey Barnes from West Brom in January

According to Belfast Telegraph, Leicester City are planning to recall Harvey Barnes, who is currently on loan at Championship club West Bromwich Albion. The 20-year-old has impressed the Foxes to the extent that they intend on calling him back in January.

Barnes has been in tremendous form this season and has scored five goals in 12 appearances for the Baggies, setting up another two in the process. As a result of his recent run of form, he was awarded a call-up to England’s U21 side.

Harvey Barnes is one of the brightest young talents to have graduated from Leicester’s academy in recent times. He signed his first professional contract in 2016 and made his debut in the same year, featuring in the team’s 5-0 defeat at the hands of Porto in the UEFA Champions League.

Barnes found regular minutes hard to come by at King Power Stadium last season and made a total of 3 appearances for the Foxes. He spent time at MK Dons and Barnsley before joining West Brom on loan this summer.

Leicester City have made a mixed start to their campaign and the Foxes currently sit 10th in the standings with 12 points. Claude Puel’s men have bagged four wins so far but have crumbled to defeats on an equal number of occasions.

The Foxes have been rather inconsistent so far and they must put up consistent performances to keep pace with the likes of Bournemouth, Watford, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton.

Leicester have been hit hard by an injury to Demarai Gray and Puel opted to shift James Maddison to the wide position in the 2-1 defeat against Everton, despite having Rachid Ghezzal and Marcus Albrighton on the bench.

Maddison has been the brightest spark for the Foxes since moving from Norwich City in the summer. The 21-year-old has racked up 3 goals and 2 assists and has been rewarded with a call-up to England’s senior team for the UEFA Nations League fixtures.

Claude Puel has a reputation for favouring the exuberance of youth and the Frenchman has been instrumental in the rise of several youngsters from Leicester’s ranks. Ben Chilwell, Demarai Gray and James Maddison have enjoyed the fruits of his managerial philosophy and have taken their game to a new level.

It is worth remembering that Puel took charge when the Foxes were struggling last season. In fact, the Frenchman leaned upon the shoulders of several youngsters to get their campaign back on track. He is known for backing youngsters as evidenced by his decisions to deploy Ben Chilwell ahead of veteran Christian Fuchs and Wilfred Ndidi ahead of Vicente Iborra.

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To put things into perspective, Leicester should recall Barnes and hand him a significant role in the squad. A versatile attacking midfielder who is capable of playing either down the left or through the centre, Barnes would add a lot of depth to Leicester’s attacking options. He is blessed with a wonderful technique, incredible vision and silky dribbling skills, making him a potent threat in the midfield.

To go with that, Barnes is also capable of scoring goals with powerful long-range efforts. As a matter of fact, Barnes has averaged 3.3 shots, 1.7 key passes and 1.5 dribbles per game this season, which are incredible numbers for a 20-year-old.

Given that Gray and Maddison are still young, they might not be able to maintain the same levels of consistency throughout the campaign. Hence, having Barnes on the bench will obviously help their cause.

Barnes has already proven his worth in the Championship and Leicester should recall their academy graduate and allow him to make a mark in the Premier League.