Harvey Barnes interview: Getting kicked while playing for West Brom is a compliment!

The bruise, which almost stretches form knee to groin, is a relic from a raking challenge during Saturday's 2-1 victory over Stoke City and has started to turn yellow.

But Barnes, Albion's dazzling No.10 on loan from Leicester, wears it like a badge of pride.

“You’ve got to take it as a compliment," he shrugs, with a smile. “They wouldn’t be kicking you about if you weren’t playing well.

“If they were comfortable then they wouldn’t be doing it.

“At a younger age, I had a bit of a temper. People would kick me about and I’d react to it.

“But you’ve just got to learn to deal with it, and take it as a compliment, because it’s a part of the game."

Barnes comes across a young man capable of taking most things in his stride.

He made his senior debut in a Champions League match no less, although Leicester were beaten 5-0 by Porto in their final group stage game because they had already qualified.

"I was young at the time, it was very unexpected," said Barnes. "Obviously the result on the day wasn't great.

"Even though we got beat five everyone was saying well done after the game."

Loan spells at MK Dons in League One and Barnsley in the Championship followed, but at the Baggies he has quickly become the creative hub of the team after being moved inside to No.10.

He speaks with an experience that belies his youth, and despite being a young and gifted attacking midfielder from a Premier League club, there is no hint of ego.

The only thing flash about Barnes is his football. And he says the influence of his father Paul, who was also a professional footballer, has helped him stay grounded.

“My dad has helped me stay focused," said Barnes. "He knows the game inside out.

"He knows what I have got to do and how I must act in and out of football.

“Maybe I’m different to other boys because I’ve got that background."

Like all good dads, Barnes Sr knows when his son needs pointers after a game.

“You can’t always be getting positives else you won’t learn," said Barnes Jr. “But there are times when he gives me positives.

"He just tells me what I need to do to go onto the next level. Having been in the game he knows the commitment that is needed."

Paul Barnes enjoyed a 20-year career in the game as a striker for Notts County, Stoke, York City, Birmingham City, Burnley, Huddersfield Town, Bury and Doncaster Rovers.

Albion tell their youngsters coming through the academy that they haven't made it until they've reached 50 senior games.

“He would say about 500!" laughed Barnes. "Whenever I made the step up – whether it be to the Championship, Premier League or even the Champions League – he would say that I can’t just settle for that.

“Of course I know that myself, but to hear it from someone else helps you keep striving for more.

"He was quite old-school in his playing style, he might not have enjoyed it as much playing now.

“It wouldn’t have suited his game with all the cameras about! He wouldn’t have got away with as much!"

Despite being from such good stock, football is more than just a profession to Barnes, who still remains an avid Leicester fan, having grown up in the East Midlands.

“I'd be going to the games with a few of my mates [if I wasn't playing]," he nodded. “Growing up in the city, playing for them, I’ve got a real love for the club.

“I’m playing most Saturday’s now so I miss the games, but when they’re on different days, it’s good to watch. I’ll always go if I’m back in midweek."

So what was it like being at the club when they won the Premier League?

"I wasn't involved in the first team that year but you felt it all around the training ground, there was a real buzz around the place and the city as well," he said. "Everywhere you went people we're talking about. Everyone just seemed a lot happier!

"The night we won it a load of us got together and head into the city centre for a game of pool. Everyone was just going mad, nobody could believe it."

Barnes recognises the importance of normality, and still hangs around with the same school-friends he's had since he was young.

"I have mates at Leicester City and I still speak to lads from Barnsley and MK but I've got school mates who I'm really close with," he said. "I still live in Leicester and see them all the time.

"It's important to have both. It's good to have your other group of mates who are completely different to football so you can step out of it."

Over summer, Barnes watched on in hope, just like the rest of the nation, as a young England side progressed to the semi-final of the World Cup.

“When the World Cup comes around we’re all fans aren’t we?"

Knowing the likes of Harry Maguire and Jamie Vardy made it even more special for him, and with Gareth Southgate looking at younger players, it's given him something to aspire to.

“I’d like to follow that path, definitely," he said. “There’s Ben (Chilwell), James (Maddison) and Dimi (Gray) in the U21s and that’s my next aim.

“The England manager has been looking at Leicester as a club with English players who could progress and it will be great to be a part of that.

"I think it’s refreshing. It gives you confidence that if you’re playing well at that level then he is going to look to the younger players.

“The average age of the squad is a lot younger than it was a few years back. Also, it’s helping to push through the other younger groups.

“The U21s are all saying that it’s a great time to be involved in the set-up because he’s always looking to promote.

“The whole England set-up is full of confidence at the moment."

But right now, his focus is primarily on Albion, and helping the Baggies win promotion this season.

And he's grateful to his new team-mates for helping him settle in.

"There's always banter, some of it can't be spoken about, but we're always having a laugh," he said.

"It's important, it shows on the pitch when you've got a good dressing room and when you haven't.

"The biggest joker has got to be (Jake) Livermore, he's always having everyone off.

"I sit next to Jake and there's always shoes going everywhere, in the fridge, stuf flike that. I try and have a bit of banter with him but when clothes start flying I stop.

"People have little battles, little one v ones, but if there isn't that it's not a football dressing room really."

Things started off well for Barnes, who managed to escape the dreaded initiation.

"I was ready to get up but someone said you don't have to do it so I sat down," he said. "They don't do it here.

"I did it at Barnsley and MK Dons, but I don't enjoy it. I sang Robbie Williams, Angels, for both. Played it safe!"

Team spirit is high at The Hawthorns though, and following a series of free-flowing attacking performances, Barnes reckons it is starting to manifest itself out on the pitch.

He's enjoying his football at the moment, and regardless of how many times he gets kicked this season, he's determined to deliver more of the same.