Robbie Mustoe claims £39m Newcastle United star is 'under appreciated' by Premier League fans

One of Eddie Howe's ultimate goals as Newcastle United boss, beyond winning trophies, is to have a squad which has two top players fighting for every position.

You could argue that we had that in the striker department before Alexander Isak started to really dominate and Callum Wilson fell apart like a wet tissue, but the one area of the pitch where you could say we truly have that is left wing.

Anthony Gordon just edges out Harvey Barnes, but Barnes has proved in the last five games that he's no slouch and is probably a bigger goal threat than Gordon.

Eddie Howe has tried to get both on the pitch at the same time but both are clearly most comfortable on the left flank, and now Jacob Murphy has become the best player in the world, neither is really in a position to oust him anyway.

Robbie Mustoe believes Harvey Barnes doesn't get the credit he deserves

It's a problem that has been highlighted by Robbie Mustoe on The 2 Robbies show for NBC, with the former Middlesbrough midfielder saying he feels that Premier League fans as a whole tend to sleep on Barnes as a player.

“I’ve always liked Harvey Barnes. Obviously the club and Eddie Howe appreciate what he does. He’s had to be patient. Anthony Gordon is the left winger, and he has not wanted to squeeze those two players in. Harvey Barnes has been a backup player all season to Anthony Gordon.

“Gordon’s been out injured [and suspended]. Barnes has played. He scores. He’s a scorer. He’s powerful, he’s a creator. His crossing is very good. He scores two goals. The second he steams through the middle from a slip from Man United and sticks it in the top corner.

“I think he is underappreciated by Premier League fans in general. I believe in him. I would like to see him as a regular starter. Though it seems like Eddie Howe still likes Jacob Murphy, and there’s no reason not to. He’s a really good player.

“But Harvey Barnes. What a wide player to bring into the front line when you’ve got some injuries or whatever. I think he’s underappreciated. He’s a very effective Premier League winger.”

Newcastle needs more Harvey Barnes-type players

Even from Newcastle fans, Barnes can come in for a bit of stick, but now that he's had a run in the side, he's showing why Eddie Howe paid £39 million and opted to bring him from Leicester when everyone was convinced he was going for James Maddison.

What Newcastle needs is that kind of competition for every position on the pitch, especially with European football as the main aim. Newcastle will be playing in Europe again next season, whatever happens this season, but as things stand, the squad is way too thin to cope.

The aim this summer is to build up the squad to avoid another injury-hit season like the last campaign when the extra games from the Champions League were just too much for us to handle.

However, it's all well and good having the players, but we need to have the quality too. It's no good swapping out a top team for a second-rate one just to aid recovery, and that's why we need more Harvey Barneses in the squad.