Newcastle United plan to open contract negotiations with Anthony Gordon when the forward returns from an extended break next week.
The north-east club want to reward him for his superb first full season at St. James’ Park which ended with him being selected for England’s squad for the European Championship.
Newcastle had held discussions with Liverpool over potentially selling Gordon to the Merseyside club as they scrambled to raise around £60million ($76.4m) ahead of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability (PSR) reporting deadline of June 30, but selling the 23-year-old was always viewed as last resort.
In opening contract talks, Newcastle hope that they can ward off further interest from Liverpool, the club Gordon supported as a boy who have a long-standing appreciation for the Englishman.
Gordon joined Newcastle from Everton on a “long-term” contract in January 2023 for initial fee of £40m. He came through the academy at Everton and made 78 first-team appearances for Everton before joining Newcastle.
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Amid internal fears that Gordon may have had his head turned by the Liverpool discussions, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe maintained Gordon had been “committed” to the club. “He’s such an important player for us, we didn’t want to lose anybody,” Howe said last week. “Why would we want to lose our best players? We fought really hard to make the right decisions. In those last few weeks (before the June 30 PSR deadline), it was very, very difficult.
“He’s an integral part of what we’re doing. I’m confident he is OK. I think you can only judge Anthony on what he has given Newcastle on the pitch. He’s been committed.
“We’ve had no conversations over the summer where it has been fractious or negative. He’s always been the Anthony Gordon who has given absolutely everything to Newcastle and I want to make that clear to all our supporters.”
Gordon enjoyed the best scoring season of his career in 2023-24 (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)
Since signing for Newcastle, Gordon has scored 13 goals and provided 11 assists in 63 appearances. Last season, he emerged as a key player under Howe and had the most productive season of his career, registering 11 goals and 10 assists in 35 Premier League matches.
That form saw him called up to represent England and Gordon featured three times in friendlies before being named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024, where he made one substitute appearance.
This summer, Newcastle have signed Lloyd Kelly, John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos, while Lewis Hall’s loan has become permanent and they have also agreed a deal to sign William Osula from Sheffield United. Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson have been sold.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have had a quiet window so far, with no senior arrivals or departures apart from Calvin Ramsay joining Wigan Athletic on loan.
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(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
