Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes is eyeing a belated return to Gareth Southgate's England setup after returning to full fitness on Tyneside.
Barnes, 26, hasn't featured for the Three Lions since his maiden international appearance back in 2020 but is confident he has what it takes to return to the England scene once he enjoys a run of games at club level once again. The former Leicester City man has only just returned for the Magpies after sustaining a freak foot injury in September.
Anthony Gordon, the player Barnes is currently behind in the Newcastle pecking order, has similar dreams of pulling on an England shirt, with the majority of the Geordie faithful backing the former Everton man to receive a call up sooner rather than later. Barnes is further down the list of options for Southgate ahead of this year's European Championships but time is on the attacker's side for future tournaments.
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"It's always something I've had in the back of my mind. It's something that every player wants to do, to represent their country," Barnes told Newcastle's official media channels last week. "But I'm fully aware of the quality that they have, so I think it takes a real good run of form or something special to get yourself into that squad.
"For me as a player, of course the start I've had here hasn't been good with the injury or what not, but I think this is the perfect platform for any player to hit the highest level – to go and perform at the highest level individually and as a club, to get yourself in there. There's no reason why, if I get back to having a good run of games and hit my best form, that I can't be back involved in the squad."
Howe will no doubt champion Barnes to work his way back into the setup at St George's Park but will be hoping to see the summer signing find his best form at Newcastle first and foremost. Barnes, who cost close to £40m in the summer, has been used sparingly since returning from his layoff and needs time to reintegrate with his club co-stars, according to the boss.
"He needs to train for a period of time," Howe said last week. "He is a goalscorer and a scorer of important goals in his career and he will do the same here. He has already shown he will score goals regularly if given the opportunities to do so.
"He is a very important member of our squad and brings a real goal threat from that wide position so we all need to, with any player coming back from a long term injury, support them, wait and they will produce their best."
