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Barnes is very good, but Saint-Maximin is coming off a very good season. Maybe Howe thinks this is as good as he can be and to sell him while his value is maximised? I rate Howe's judgement in general, but this seems a peculiar move.
ASM at times looks all flair and limited end result. He'll score you a worldy now and then. Barnes outscored him 13 to 1 last year albeit with ~50% more matches. Assists 5-1 in favour of ASM.
In 21/22 they played a similar number of matches (35 to 32 in favour of ASM) and Barnes outscored (6-5) and outassisted (10-5).
Barnes also homegrown.
Barnes feels crazy underrated. Never going to win the Ballon d'Or or anything, but he's been putting up good numbers for years now. Maybe it's because he's not a flair player?
It's funny, ASM and he are basically opposites. Looks like many people overrate ASM because he's fun to watch, but as you say, he's always struggled with decision making and end product.
Hustling backwards, they'll need his explosiveness at Newcastle. He'd be a great super sub. I don't rate Barnes as high as Saint-Maximin.