Following his first call-up to the England senior squad and superb form for Newcastle United, it’s a good time to look back at Anthony Gordon’s impressive rise over the years.
Youth career
As a young lad, Gordon was released by Everton and Liverpool, with both clubs wary of his slight frame. Working to make a comeback he joined Whiston Juniors, where he was working on his skills and strength. At 11 years old his hard work would pay off as he secured a move to boyhood club Everton. He was scouted playing as a striker, where his athleticism and technique helped him stand out.
At 16 years old, Gordon made his debut for Everton’s u18 side, where he played 57 minutes against Liverpool in a 2-1 loss. He played another eight games that season for the u18 squad, where he played a few games as an attacking midfielder; including one against his current club Newcastle United.
In the 2017/18 season Gordon solidified himself in Everton’s u18 side where he scored 14 goals and made 4 assists in 15 games in the u18 Premier League. His performances also warranted him a four-minute substitute appearance in an 3-0 away win against Apollon Limassol in the Europa League. He came on and played as an attacking midfielder, having a couple bright moments in the game.
Fast forward to 2018/19 and Gordon made it into the U23 squad. He played 14 times, and started five of those games, bagging one goal and one assist that campaign. He also got a call up for England’s u18 side, playing 10 times and starting five of them. He didn’t get the goals or assists he would have wanted but a call up for England and playing at a higher level was big for him.
Everton breakthrough
2019/20 was a huge year for Gordon. He started the season of playing for the u23’s, delivering six goals and two assists in nine appearances. Then, towards the end of the campaign, after some hard work during lockdown, he finally earnt himself a place in Everton’s first team squad. Ancelotti was impressed and gave him 11 appearances in the Premier League, where Gordon registered one assist. He was given the opportunity to start in a Merseyside derby, where he was given a tough role in tracking Alexander Arnold. For England he was called up to the u19’s and made four appearances, starting three of them on the left wing.
2020/2021 was a tough season for Gordon. He only made seven appearances for Everton (three in the premier league, two in the EFL cup and two in the FA Cup), getting four assists in those games. For the second half of the season, he was sent out on loan to Preston where he would play 11 times for them. It was valuable experience for him though, getting a feel for the physicality of the English leagues. A problem he’s had since a young age was his slight frame, so playing In a league as physical as the Championship would have been good for him. He also made his first appearance for England u20’s against Wales u20’s.
2021/22 season was his “second breakthrough” as Rafael Benitez decided not to send him back out on loan and kept him at Everton, where he played 40 times for them, delivering four goals and three assists. During this season Gordon worked under three different managers; Rafael Benitez, Duncan Ferguson and Frank Lampard. He played on both wings during this season; on the right he played 22 times getting three goals and one assist, on the left he played 15 times, bagging one goal and two assists.
This season was the year the young winger had wound up multiple fan bases across the country with his antics on the pitch; whether that be his celebrations or gamesmanship. But that season he showed that he’d do anything necessary to win. Under Benitez he had a lot more defensive responsibility. That was ultimately good for him; you can see the way he plays now, he never underestimates how important it is for him to track his runner and work as hard going back as he does going forward.
Then Lampard came in, he immediately started getting more of the ball and was able to showcase his talent more. It didn’t turn into direct output but his impact and amount of influence on games increased massively. He was linking play more often, combining with teammates, running at teams in much more dangerous areas and was able to make runs in behind. A big issue for him though was his efficiency in front of goal. He was getting in positions of danger, but the final ball wasn’t there. This led to a drop in confidence and frustration in his game. He was often rushing his actions, trying to play the game at 100 mph. But there were obvious signs of how talented he was, with his work rate, ball carrying and enthusiasm leading to links with a big-money move to Chelsea.
2022/23 was another season where he just couldn’t find his form in front of goal. He played 34 times and registered four goals and 0 assists. A season where his frustration was clear, he was given five yellow cards in his first 10 Premier League games that led to a one-match suspension.
He started the season off with Everton under Lampard, where he played his first couple games at centre forward but eventually got moved back to the wing. During the September international break, Gordon was given a call up to the England u21 side, where he was given two games against Italy and Germany. He performed well against Germany and bagged himself an assist. But, after a very poor run of form and the feeling that Everton were going to be relegated from the Premier League for the first time ever in their history, the fans turned, not only on the manager but the players. Gordon had his car stopped in the middle of the street and was getting verbal abuse from his own fans.
At this moment there was a feeling Gordon no longer wanted to play for his boyhood club anymore and ended up pushing for a move to Newcastle. Life at Newcastle wasn’t easy to begin with for Gordon. He was mostly getting substitute appearances, didn’t look fit enough and only registered his first goal for Newcastle on the final day of the season. He also suffered from an ankle injury in March that left him out of the side for a whole month.
The new Anthony Gordon
In the summer of 2023, he was then given a call up for the u21 European championship for England. He played as a false nine for the entire tournament and got two goals and one assist in six games, where the Young Lions went on to life the trophy. Gordon was awarded player of the tournament and was in the best shape of his career.
2023/24 has been by far the best season in Gordon’s career. He has registered 10 goals and seven assists in 40 games this season, made his Champions League debut and has been arguably Newcastle’s player of the season. Gordon has played a crucial role and I’m sure no one would have expected him to play this much football, especially with the signing of Harvey Barnes. But Gordon has stepped up – which he needed to after Harvey’s injury – and his versatility has been vital, playing up front while Wilson and Isak have been injured. He has scored goals in big games and his confidence has never been higher. Now he has earnt his first call up for the England senior squad. With the Euros just a few months away, this is a huge opportunity for Anthony to prove why he should be on the plane to Germany in the summer ahead of friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
What has changed?
The biggest difference in Gordon’s game is his mentality. At Everton he really struggled for confidence and was frustrated a lot. Desperately trying to add more goals and assists to his game, but often too rash and making silly mistakes. This led to him getting a bad reputation on social media and many Newcastle fans were sceptical about the signing, fearing we’d brought in a bad egg.
When he started at Newcastle you could tell he was still low on confidence, he would only go on the outside of the man, he would hardly ever try and cut inside and this made him very predictable to defend against. His dribbling has always been impressive, his close control in tight spaces is amazing but his decision making in those scenarios was poor; he’d often run into too many players and lose the ball. Now though, he’s much better, he is a lot smarter on the ball, releasing the ball a lot sooner. His off the ball movements have been one of his biggest improvements. A lot of his goals have been easy finishes but his intelligence off the ball to get into those situations is what’s impressive. At Everton, Gordon was often static off the ball or would make the same runs in behind, he seemed quite disengaged. It’s a completely different story now.
His tactical fit
Gordon plays his best football in the half spaces. He loves combining with teammates in these areas of the pitch. Howe plays a fairly narrow front three, which is ideal for Gordon as he will be in these central areas more often. Gordon is very two footed, so he is fine on either wing. His off the ball work rate suits an Eddie Howe team as well, as he demands a lot when it comes to pressing and how much running a player needs to do. Gordon is one of the hardest working wingers in Europe. Howe also plays a very direct game that can lead to a lot of transitional situations. The winger has plenty of experience in these situations as he played under Rafa where he was often one of the main outlets in that side.
Conclusion
Overall, a lot has happened in Gordon’s career that has made him the player he is today. A very early setback being dropped from both Liverpool and Everton. A loan in the Championship where he was able to get to grips of the physicality of English football. Playing under so many different coaches and high-profile coaches in Rafael Benitez and Carlo Ancelotti is always good for a young player, especially when Ancelotti gave him his first run of games in the Everton senior squad.
The growth through the England youth set up has been good for him. Even through his tough periods he was still being called up. The biggest impact though has been his move to Newcastle. It was a slow start for him, but he was given time to learn his new role in a new system. The slow integration into the side helped a lot. Then his call up for the u21 Euros was the perfect tournament for him, he was able to improve his fitness over there and he was able to enjoy his football again. Then he came back for pre-season the fittest player in the squad. This was enough for Howe to trust him more, start him in some big games early in the season and develop him into one of the best young wingers in Europe, showcasing his talents at the highest possible level. He has a chance to make his England debut on the 23rd (Brazil) and 26th March (Belgium). Hopefully he can achieve his boyhood dream.
