Eddie Howe has finally got the better of Pep Guardiola now in a Premier League environment.
At the 19th time of asking, Howe managed to get one over on the highly successful Manchester City manager, as Newcastle United romped back into top-flight action with a 2-1 win at St James’ Park.
Newcastle were good value for the win, too, as Harvey Barnes chipped in with a double to steer the Toon to another memorable victory on their own patch.
How Harvey Barnes downed Manchester City
The former Leicester City winger is now up to six goals for the season in all competitions, despite his appearance against Guardiola’s men only being his fifth Premier League start of the campaign.
With a brace under his belt, though, he’s surely a shoo-in for more starts as the congested winter fixture schedule hits. Journalist Henry Winter simply described his display as “clinical” when powering two quickfire efforts past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Barnes would manage to put away those two efforts confidently, with just four shots registered in total. But, away from stylishly getting the better of the new City number one with his opener, the 27-year-old also managed to win three duels and attempt three mazy dribbles as a constant livewire.
The only worry will be whether Barnes can stay fit to keep up this electric form, with three Premier League goals now next to his name from limited starts. Across the last three seasons on Tyneside, he has missed a concerning 38 games via injury.
Thankfully, though, Newcastle have a rising star in their ranks who could go on to be a bigger talent than the Toon winger.
Newcastle's 18-year-old Barnes replacement
Howe has shown frequently throughout his time as Newcastle boss to date that he is willing to chuck a starlet into the first team picture if they’re deemed ready for the challenge of senior action.
Indeed, Lewis Miley first made his senior debut under Howe when he was just 17 years of age, while another budding homegrown prodigy in Sean Neave, occupied a space on the bench against City, all while still being a wide-eyed 18-year-old prospect.
Could Seung Soo-Park be the next to bridge the gap between the U21s and the first team?
The future certainly looks bright for the South Korean attacker, who excelled for Suwon Bluewings back in his native Korea at just 17 years of age, becoming the youngest ever player in the history of Korean league football.
One goal and three assists came his way from 28 appearances for Suwon, with Barnes reduced to playing all the way down in League One at around the same age with Milton Keynes Dons, out on loan from then parent side Leicester City.
Park has even been described as a “similar [player] to Mbappe” by Asian football expert John Duerden for his frightening speed when bombing forward, which was seen in the summer when Park was handed opportunities in pre-season, with three dribbles successfully completed up against Espanyol.
With two duels won against Tottenham Hotspur in another pre-season test, it might not be the wildest suggestion in the world to state that Park could be gifted some senior minutes in the bread and butter of the Premier League soon, with the Korean sensation hailed for showing a “maturity beyond his years” by academy coach Steven Harper when first joining.
Gordon
13
4 + 1
Elanga
18
0 + 1
Barnes
18
6 + 2
Of course, the ex-Suwon winger does have both Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga in his way, too, down the left-hand side, but if he can manage to live up to all his early hype, he should be able to surpass those in front of him down the line.
Indeed, Elanga is yet to get up and running with zero goals for the season. Moreover, Barnes is also prone to a hit-and-miss performance in Newcastle black and white, having only managed five goals during the entire 2023/24 season.
For the time being, Howe will rely on Barnes, who is thankfully in a purple patch right now.
Yet, in the long term, don’t discount Park leapfrogging the Englishman, with a stunning Mbappe-style talent potentially on Howe’s hands.
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