Man United: Rashford-esque Harvey Barnes on CREEPY Ten Hag's radar
According to ROBBIE WALLS (who the F*(K is he?) - Manchester United are reportedly in the race for Leicester City winger, Harvey Barnes, despite the Englishman having seemingly been nearing a move to rivals, Newcastle United.
With United having already wrapped up a deal for Barnes' compatriot, Mason Mount, the Daily Mail have reported that the Red Devils - as well as West Ham United - are also admirers of the Foxes ace, with the 25-year-old looking destined to leave the newly-relegated side this summer.
With Erik ten Hag also having the likes of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho at his disposal, there may be those scratching their heads at the prospect of signing another player who predominantly features on the left flank.
That being said, there have been reports that the former Ajax boss is seeking to acquire a new option in that role, with that revelation coming amid claims that Sancho could be on his way, having fallen out of favour of late.
There could also be a world in which Rashford is utilised as a central striker next season - as he did so frequently last term - even if United are to snap up promising Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund, with it yet to be seen if the towering Dane can be relied upon having netted just nine Serie A goals in 2022/23.
With those factors in mind, it would then make sense to provide competition to young Garnacho with the capture of Barnes, with the Burnley-born speedster having proven his credentials in recent years having bagged 45 goals and laid on 32 assists in 187 games for his current side.
It is also noteworthy that the highly-coveted "livewire" - as hailed by pundit Alan Hutton - is also said to share a number of statistical and stylistic similarities with that man Rashford, according to FBref, ensuring that Barnes could be a useful rival to his fellow Englishman, while also taking on the academy graduate's role on the left if he is to be deployed through the middle.
That likeness can be seen by the fact that the pair can both offer a clinical attacking threat, with Rashford having scored 17 league goals last season, while Barnes chipped in with 13 top-flight goals despite Leicester's drop into the second tier.
That has ensured that the current Red Devils talisman ranks in the top 1% among those in his position in Europe's top five leagues for non-penalty goals, while his Foxes counterpart is only just behind as he ranks in the top 6% in that regard.
Much like Rashford has been lauded as "unstoppable" by Ten Hag for "his speed, his dribbles and his directness", Barnes also possesses that "raw pace" which can pose a real menacing prospect for the opposition, as per Hutton.
Having seen the impact Rashford had last term - after bagging 30 goals in all competitions - to then find a possible clone in the form of the £35k-per-week speedster would be a real coup.
