NEWCASTLE UNITED have confirmed the signing of Harvey Barnes from Leicester City.

Barnes has signed a five-year contract at St James' Park, and joins the Magpies for a fee of around £38m.

The 25-year-old has flown to the United States, and will be part of the Newcastle squad for the Premier League Summer Series.

The Magpies begin their Summer Series campaign with a game against Aston Villa in the early hours of tomorrow morning, and while Barnes is not expected to feature in that match, he could be involved in Newcastle's other two matches against Chelsea and Brighton.

Barnes joins Eddie Howe's side from Leicester, where he came through the club's academy and clocked up 187 senior appearances. He was an FA Cup winner with Leicester, and also picked up a senior cap with England during his time at the King Power Stadium.

Despite suffering relegation last season, Barnes recorded the best Premier League goalscoring return of his career, netting 13 times to finish as Leicester's top scorer.

Barnes said: "I'm delighted. It's an amazing club and for me it's a massive opportunity to come and be involved in a successful team that's doing exciting things, so I’m absolutely buzzing to be here.

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"I think it's an attacker’s dream to come into a team like this - it's high paced, it’s physically demanding, but you can see the rewards of that with the chances and the goals scored, so I think I’ll certainly suit the style."

Barnes follows fellow summer signing Sandro Tonali into Newcastle's first-team squad, with his arrival set to be followed by confirmation of Allan Saint-Maximin's departure to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli.

Howe said: "Harvey is an exciting talent who I have admired for a long time so I'm delighted to welcome him to Newcastle United.

"He is strong, quick and very good technically, and he showed last season in particular that he has an eye for goal from wide positions.

"He will add a different element to our play and we look forward to working with him as we prepare for the season ahead."