Barnes was sold by new boss Malcolm Allison in 1979, and joined West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £748,000 – a club transfer record that was not broken until Kevin Kilbane broke the £1 million barrier over 18 years later. He finished as the club's leading scorer in 1979–80 with 15 goals. The "Baggies" finished fourth in 1980–81 under Ron Atkinson's stewardship. Barnes signed for Leeds United in 1981 for £750,000 plus £180,000 "tariffs". However Leeds manager Allan Clarke played him as a striker, and Barnes failed to adapt to his new role, scoring only one goal in 30 top-flight games as Leeds were relegated into the Second Division in 1981–82. Assistant manager Martin Wilkinson remarked that "We are not asking Peter to run his blood to water, but we do want to see him get a bit of a sweat occasionally." Barnes handed in a transfer request, and in February 1982 was given a £750 club fine following comments he made to newspapers. Clarke attempted to trade him to Nottingham Forest for Garry Birtles, and then to Manchester City for Trevor Francis, but was unsuccessful.