Newcastle United team sheet hint dropped with Harvey Barnes pushing for return
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has dropped a hint a possible selection tweak to his side for the weekend clash at Chelsea.
Howe left £38million man Harvey Barnes on the bench against Brighton & Hove Albion with Jacob Murphy starting a game which ended in a 1-0 defeat. Howe may consider recalling Barnes to the left wing with Anthony Gordon shifting to the right.
Speaking at his Press conference ahead of the clash with the Blues, Howe admitted he could look to use the England international on the other side of a three-pronged attack. He said: "He (Gordon) was signed as someone who could play both, very much that was the profile of player we were looking for.
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"It isn’t easy to find players that cover both sides. From working with him, there is a preference to the left but I don’t think it is because Anthony can’t play on the right anymore but of course, you’ve got to try and get the players in the best frame of mind to play and perform at their best.
"But certainly I think wherever we ask Anthony to play, whether that is left, central or right, he will do it to the best of his ability."
In a week which has seen Howe celebrate Gordon signing a new contract extension to end talk of a transfer to Liverpool, the head coach has opened up on the mental side of the Newcastle forward spending Euro 2024 on the bench. Incredibly, the then in-form star was barely used in Germany for England with Gareth Southgate's side crying out for attacking flair.
Howe said: "It was a difficult summer for him, there's no doubt about that. It was a difficult summer for a lot of the players because, through no fault of their own, they are reading headlines on their futures which can be destabilising.
"Anthony had the Euros which was a brilliant experience for him - maybe didn't play as much as he wanted - so there was a frustration there - but then he's thrust back into the action here and he'd hardly had any training and hadn't played in the Euros.
"There was a lot of psychological aspect to deal with and I think he's handled it really well I think this move by him just ends any other thought other than being at his best for us which is his priority and always has been his priority but hopefully it accelerates that."