I want Aston Villa to go and get him for a cut fee”- Gabby Agbonlahor pleads with Unai Emery and Aston Villa to complete £30m transfer for relegated winger
Gabby Agbonlahor has urged former club Aston Villa to make a move for Harvey Barnes after Leicester City suffered relegation from the Premier League on Sunday.
Barnes scored in the Foxes’ final day win over West Ham United, which didn’t prove to be enough for Dean Smith and his players because of Everton’s victory elsewhere.
Barnes, 25, is a Leicester academy product and he’s been a regular in the side since being recalled from his excellent loan spell at West Brom in 2019. During that period, Barnes has played in Europe for City and won the FA Cup under Brendan Rodgers in 2021. He has two years remaining on his King Power Stadium contract.
Relegation, though, will likely attract Premier League interest in Barnes who, like James Maddison, Youri Tielemans and Timothy Castagne, among others, is expected to move on. Former Villa striker Agbonlahor would love to see Barnes at Villa Park next year. The Lions are, after all, planning to compete on four fronts after finishing seventh under Unai Emery.
“If you get complacent in the Premier League, anyone can get relegated,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT. “Leicester have been complacent this season. They’ve had their struggles. There’s going to be an exodus of players.
“Maddison is going to go for less than Leicester would’ve expected. Harvey Barnes – I want Aston Villa to go and get him for a cut fee, we’ll give you £25-30m, thank you very much. It’s a shame. Castagne, there’s talk about Inter Milan looking at him as their new wing back.
“There are a lot of players in that Leicester squad that are going to go, and we’ve seen how hard it is to come straight back up.”