Burnley vs Liverpool: How Ashley Barnes has become one of the most feared Premier League strikers
Burnley star Ashley Barnes is currently one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League.
Only Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero (16) and Liverpool’s Sadio Mane (15) have scored more league goals than Barnes (13) in 2019.
The 29-year-old has started the 2019/20 campaign on fire, netting four goals in Burnley’s opening three games.
There was an element of surprise from a section of England fans after Gareth Southgate left Barnes out of the squad for next month’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo.
Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson kept his place in the squad, despite failing to find the net so far this season.
Barnes has hit double figures in all competitions for the past two seasons for Burnley, but is yet to gain international recognition from Southgate.
The Bath-born forward is eligible to play England, despite making an appearance for Austria’s Under-20 team in a friendly game in 2008.
Ashley Barnes' Premier League record
- 2014/15 – Five goals in 35 appearances
- 2016/17 – Six goals in 28 appearances
- 2017/18 – Nine goals in 36 appearances
- 2018/19 – 12 goals in 37 appearances
- 2019/20 – Four goals in three appearances
Barnes would qualify to play for Austria through his grandmother, who was from Klagenfurt, however, the country’s council of ministers rejected his citizenship application after he did not ‘meet the essential criteria for naturalisation’.
Burnley were fighting relegation last season, but Barnes still managed to net 12 league goals.
His thriving strike partnership with Chris Wood could cause Liverpool problems at Turf Moor on Saturday, in a game which is LIVE on talkSPORT.
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Barnes’ rise in England’s top-flight has been even more impressive considering he missed most of Burnley’s Championship promotion-winning 2015/16 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
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Some players are not the same after suffering serious knee injuries, but in Barnes’ case, he has improved with age.
This week, his manager Sean Dyche told the Daily Telegraph about what makes Barnes the player his is now.
He said: “Barnsey’s biggest strength is he can adapt to any system we play and whoever he plays with, he brings other players into play as well as doing his own individual role.”
“I think one of the main improvements is attention to detail as a centre-forward,” Dyche continued. “The importance of hold-up play, using the strengths you have rather than the things you haven’t – and he does that very well.
“His experiences of the game stand him in good stead working all the way back from Paulton Rovers and the like, doing the hard side of the game, working for your team.
He has surpassed his goal tally in each season since Burnley’s return to the Premier League in 2016 and you wouldn’t put it past him doing it again in 2020.
From non-league minnows Eastbourne to starring for the Clarets in the Premier League – it has been an incredible journey for Barnes.
And if he keeps up his early-season form, an England call-up will not be far away.
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