Ashley Barnes

Ashley Luke Barnes (born 30 October 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Burnley.

As a child, Barnes played for Bath Arsenal, where his teammates included fellow future professional Scott Sinclair[5] and was briefly in the academy of Bristol Rovers before being released.

[7] He made his Plymouth debut in the first round of the League Cup in August 2007 against Wycombe Wanderers, coming on as a substitute for first-team regular Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

[8] He subsequently found first-team opportunities hard to come by, and was sent on loan to Conference side Oxford United in November 2007 to gain some experience.

[19] On 8 July 2010, Barnes signed a two-year contract with Brighton & Hove Albion after transferring for an undisclosed fee from Plymouth Argyle.

[22] Fans and manager Gus Poyet were critical of Barnes for this action as it left the club with only one senior striker available to play, as Craig Mackail-Smith and Will Hoskins were already injured for the rest of the season.

[23] On 8 November, he scored the only goal at Turf Moor to defeat Hull City and gain Burnley's first win of the Premier League season.

[5] On 24 May 2015, as relegated Burnley finished the season with a win over Aston Villa, Barnes was taken off with knee cruciate ligament injuries, which would rule him out for the majority of the following campaign.

[35][36] He scored for Burnley on his final appearance for the club in a 3–0 win against Cardiff City at Turf Moor and received a standing ovation as he departed the field.

[4][52] While born in Bath to English parents, it was believed that Barnes could qualify to represent Austria courtesy of his paternal grandmother, who was from Klagenfurt, if he were able to acquire Austrian citizenship.

[53][55] Barnes made his debut as a substitute in the 73rd minute replacing FC Wacker Innsbruck's Julius Perstaller in front of 250 spectators.

[56] Barnes said in April 2015 that he had had no further contact with the Austrian Football Association, and stated that he was open to representing either England or Austria at senior level if given the opportunity.

[53] His form in the 2017–18 season led to calls in Austria for him to receive a national team call-up, and manager Franco Foda confirmed in March 2018 that he was monitoring Barnes.

Barnes playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2011
Barnes playing for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2011
Barnes in 2024 in Norwich