ENGLAND star Harvey Barnes was tipped to play for his country when he was just 11.
Back in 2009, Barnes helped Greenfield Primary School win The Rice Bowl — the coveted Leicestershire and Rutland Schools trophy — for the first time.
Harvey Barnes is the man of the moment for Leicester City right nowCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The winger, holding the shield, was destined to go right to the top after starring for his primary school team
Now, at 23, Barnes is a capped Three Lions star and chasing the biggest titles in our national game.
Coaches from his loan stints in the EFL at MK Dons, Barnsley and West Brom, recall helping Barnes find his way.
But Nick Quinn, a coach with 25 years’ experience, remembers the moment he realised the Foxes winger would be on his way to the very top.
Quinn, Head of School at Greenfield, said: “Harvey was captain of the Year Six team and we were playing another big school, I think in the first round.
“We were 1-0 down and Harvey just took it upon himself. He demand-ed the ball, took it round three or four players, scored, took it to extra-time and we won.
“We went all the way to the final at the King Power Stadium. So in 2009, for the first time in our history, our name was engraved on the cup.
“I remember saying to my wife, ‘I think this kid is going to go on and play for England’.
“What put Harvey on a completely different level was his mindset and work ethic. He would never give up.”
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Barnes had joined Leicester’s Academy at the age of nine and made his Foxes debut in a Champions League match in Porto on December 7, 2016, two days before his 19th birthday.
That same month, former Foxes full- back Robbie Neilson took over at League One MK Dons. A friend from his Leicester days, under-23s coach Steve Beaglehole, recommended Barnes as a loan signing.
Neilson, now in his second spell in charge of Hearts, said: “He came in and lit it up right away.”
Barnes joined the Dons on a Friday and three minutes into his debut as a substitute the next day, he scored the final goal in a 5-3 win over Northampton.
Neilson said: “It was a throw-in, he came short, then spun over his shoulder and popped it in the corner.
“Right away you think, ‘Aye, he’s decent, this kid, he’s got a chance’.
“You could tell from inside 30 seconds that he was different from everything else in League One.”
But just like in his Greenfield days, it was not just Barnes’ ability that made him special.
Barnes helped Greenfield Primary School win The Rice Bowl in 2009
Teacher Nick Quinn, back left, predicted to his wife the then-11-year-old would play for England
Neilson said: “One of the biggest things about him was that he took to the dressing room very well.
“We had a number of players in their early to mid-30s and it can be difficult for a kid to be taken into a group. But the boys loved him.”
Neilson would have loved to keep Barnes for the following season but Leicester sent him to Championship club Barnsley to step up his progress before recalling him in January 2018.
Barnes was heading for Leeds on another loan in July 2018 until a last-minute intervention by West Brom.
As the Baggies’ loan manager, Darren Moore had seen Barnes score a wonder goal early in his spell at Barnsley.
And after Moore became West Brom boss, he called in a favour with Leicester director of football Jon Rudkin and set up a meeting with Barnes and his dad Paul.
Moore said: “I told him, ‘You’re coming to me as a first-teamer — I’ve sold James McClean and you are going to play in that position’. I sold to him the vision of what the club wanted to do.
“He had already agreed terms with Leeds but I was delighted when he rang me on the Monday to say he was coming to us.”
It was a relief for all the other teams in our division that Harvey went back to Leicester
Darren Moore
Moore was as good as his word. Barnes started all 26 Championship games in his spell at The Hawthorns, scoring a peach on his debut against Bolton and racking up nine goals and seven assists.
The problem for West Brom was that Barnes’ exploits suggested he was ready for the Leicester first team — and he was recalled.
Moore said: “I think it was a relief for all the other teams in our division that he went.
“Losing Harvey was a big blow. When we spoke to Leicester, I said, ‘Please don’t take the boy back and put him on the subs’ bench. He’s more than capable of playing’.
“They assured me he was going back to play.
“Everything he’s doing now, I’m not surprised at all.
“I said back then that he had the capabilities to play for England.”
Barnes returned to Leicester in January 2019 and Brendan Rodgers left Celtic to replace Claude Puel as Foxes boss the following month. Neither has looked back.
Barnes first went out on loan to MK Dons in the 2016-17 seasonCredit: Rex Features
He excelled during the following year at Barnsley as he stepped up to the ChampionshipCredit: PA:Empics Sport
The forward racked up nine goals and seven assists in 26 games under Darren Moore at West Brom before getting recalled by LeicesterCredit: Reuters
Neilson said: “I know Brendan well. His man-management is different class.
“They definitely suit each other: the way one plays and the way the other wants to play.”
At Quinn’s invitation, Barnes went back to where it all started to watch Greenfield win the Rice Bowl outright at the King Power in 2018.
And, in one of the corridors, there is a display dedicated to Barnes that includes two of his old school shirts, which he has signed.
Quinn said: “It’s there to say to the kids, ‘Here is someone who used to sit through our assemblies and who, through sheer hard work and determination, achieved his goals’.”
Barnes slotted in the third in the recent win over Liverpool to continue his impressive form in front of goalCredit: Reuters
He made his senior England debut in Wales and at this rate could be in Gareth Southgate’s Euro plansCredit: PA:Press Association
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