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Leicester City have made the call and have opted to bring back Harvey Barnes from his loan spell at West Brom.

After 10 days of 'will they, won't they?', City have now recalled the 21-year-old attacking midfielder and he could be involved as soon as this weekend's fixture against Southampton.

But have City made the correct decision? We have analysed the pros and cons of recalling the youngster.

Why City are right to bring back Barnes

He’s really good

And not just really good for a 21-year-old in their first few months at a new club, he’s been one of the best players in the Championship.

Barnes has nine goals, the second-highest tally for a non-striker, and seven assists, the second-highest tally overall. He’s also hit the woodwork five times, which is more times than any other player.

For comparison, James Maddison had six goals and five assists after 26 Championship games. City ended up spending £24m on him.

Away from the stats, Barnes is a joy to watch. He’s direct, has terrific close control and possesses the physical attributes to sprint away from or shrug off his marker. He picks the right passes and creates himself shooting opportunities. He is certainly a talent.

(Image: Clint Hughes/PA Wire)

City are short of options

When Barnes was recalled from his loan spell at Barnsley this time last year, he returned to a squad that had wide-men Riyad Mahrez, Marc Albrighton, Demarai Gray and Fousseni Diabate in decent-to-good form. Hence, Barnes made just five senior appearances.

That is not to be the case this season. There are fewer barriers for Barnes with Gray not hitting his stride, Rachid Ghezzal out of sorts and Diabate now at Sivasspor for the rest of the season.

Barnes is undoubtedly going to be given more opportunities to impress and he could be the antidote to City’s stuttering attack, which has lacked creativity and goals, particularly against mean defences.

Won't need to be added to the Premier League squad

City’s squad is overflowing, so much so that neither Andy King nor Yohan Benalouane could be registered in the 25-man Premier League squad.

City have make some room this window with Vicente Iborra departing, but Barnes could be recalled without the club having to reshuffle.

He was born in 1997, so counts as an under-21 player and would not need to be registered.

Why City should have let Barnes stay

Guaranteed to play every game

Barnes has started every Championship fixture this season and, if he stayed at West Brom, that would unlikely change.

If Barnes struggles to make the step up at City and suffers a dip in performance, the club either have to persevere and hope he picks up again, or drop him to the bench in favour of another attacker.

At the Hawthorns, Barnes would have been afforded time to work through any patch of bad form. More football means more experience, which, in turn, equals a better player.

(Image: Plumb Images/Getty Images)

It would improve mental side of his game

Although Barnes is regularly tearing up Championship defences, there is still much for him to learn. Namely, the mental side of the game.

Keep playing as they are and West Brom will be involved in the battle for automatic promotion at the season’s climax. At the very least, they will be battling it out in the play-offs.

Both scenarios would pile the pressure on Barnes, who would have to show his ability and control his nerves.

Success or failure, the high-pressure situations would have been invaluable for Barnes.

The race for the Premier League’s seventh spot does not match up.

He can finish what he's started

Barnes has said he was enjoying himself at the Hawthorns, and in an attacking team that is winning often, who wouldn’t be?

He was told before the campaign that he would have a full season with West Brom, so to cut it short with the job half done is perhaps a blow for the attacking midfielder.

He has, hopefully, a long and fruitful City career ahead of him, a few more months away wouldn’t hurt.

What's your opinion? Have City made the right decision? Vote in our poll below.

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