The huge summer transfer deal Newcastle United must resist amid growing interest

There were some serious questions asked when Newcastle United handed over around £40m to land Everton youngster Anthony Gordon during last year’s January transfer window.

Why pay so much for a player that still had plenty to prove after the initial promise shown during the early months of his time in the senior setup at Goodison Park slowly slipped away? Why was such an outlay required on a player that seemed to have lost his confidence and self-belief in the months prior to the transfer? And why was the signing of Gordon required when United already possessed a number of players capable of playing in similar areas?

Those questions seemed to remain unanswered after the first few months of Gordon’s time as a Magpies as he struggled to make a serious impact and was unable to hold down a starting place in Eddie Howe’s side. Yet there was a glimmer of hope on the final day of the season when the talented forward grabbed his first goal for the club with a neat finish in a hard-earned draw at Chelsea.

Last summer provided the platform for what has been a spectacular upturn in fortunes for Gordon as he helped England win the European Under-21 Championships and landed the player of the tournament award in the process. Intriguingly, the Magpies star also provided his club manager with something of an added bonus after he was utilised in a ‘false nine’ position throughout the tournament.

There was a notable difference in Gordon’s performances when he returned for pre-season as the young forward seemed to have a spring in his step and Newcastle reaped the rewards as the former Toffees star quickly seized a left-sided forward position and made it his own. An opening day assist for debutant Sandro Tonali in a 5-1 win against Aston Villa set the tone and with two games of the season remaining, Gordon’s tally sits at an impressive 12 goals and 11 assists in 48 appearances in all competitions.

His form received full international recognition as Gordon earned his first two senior caps when Gareth Southgate’s men faced Brazil and Belgium in friendly fixtures in March. His performances for the Three Lions also provided further questions with Gordon’s inclusion in the Euro 2024 Finals squad now the limitation of his expectations and he is surely now under consideration for a starting place in Germany during the summer.

The basic statistics only tell half of the story with Gordon’s impact on a Newcastle side that have suffered from a season-long battle with injuries. Only key midfielder Bruno Guimaraes has made more starts for the Magpies and only Alexander Isak has more goal involvements. The Swedish striker is also the only Magpies star to improve Gordon’s xG of 20.5 and non-penalty xG of 9.3. Gordon does come out on top with expected assists, sitting alongside England star Kieran Trippier at 8.0 and comfortably tops the charts with progressive ball carries and progressive passes.

There was some surprise that Gordon missed out on being shortlisted for the Premier League’s young player of the year - but he did take Newcastle’s own player of the year award. With his achievements racking up, there is little surprise the winger has reportedly attracted interest from a number of clubs across the Premier League and Europe.

But surely now, with his place firmly secured in the Magpies side and an unwavering support from his manager and the St. James’ Park faithful, the only question to be asked, is why would Newcastle even consider selling a player that can go on to achieve all he wants to achieve at St. James’ Park?