Why Anthony Gordon is going nowhere – despite latest Liverpool claims

Newcastle United found themselves in a quandary in the lead up to the PSR deadline, 30th June. For the club, taking the punishment of a points deduction was deemed not a viable option. This led to the club looking into numerous solutions, including the potential sale of Anthony Gordon to Liverpool. This was avoided through the sales of Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson respectively.

Despite the PSR hole being climbed out of, the rumour mill regarding Anthony Gordon has not stopped churning. But why am I not worried?

Firstly, Newcastle were able to act creatively selling an academy graduate at 100% profit and a player that never kicked a ball for a total of £68m, relieving PSR concerns that were the one and only initial consideration for any Gordon sale.

This is a pivotal point in the motivations to sell, with PSR no longer a threat on the near horizon banking in on Gordon’s services no longer appears to be a sensible option for a motivated Newcastle wanting to get back into Europe next season.

We then move onto the realities of the ‘talks’ between Newcastle and Liverpool. According to The Mail, Newcastle set an asking price of £100m for Gordon which was swiftly rebuffed, followed by an £80m fee. They claim it looked close at one stage, as Newcastle looked to buy Liverpool centre back Joe Gomez for £45m and sell Gordon in the other direction for £75m. But this was quashed when the aforementioned sales of Miteh and Anderson materialised.

Again, turning back to PSR being the motivation, this is no longer the case. The latest episode of Fabrizio Romano’s ‘Here We Go’ Podcast then generated a soundbite that seems to have certain red circles clamouring for something to happen again – ‘Keep an eye on Anthony Gordon’ – however, the full segment of the podcast reveals that Liverpool do indeed appreciate Gordon, but a fee was ‘almost impossible’ to agree and a player they wanted ‘in the final days of June’. All pointing towards the PSR deadline forcing Newcastle to think creatively, but as described by Craig Hope on his YouTube channel, this was the ‘nuclear option’. So preferable sales, such as Minteh and Anderson, were the clubs ambition.

For me personally, this is now a closed case. The motivation to sell is gone, and at no point has Gordon pushed for a move. Eddie Howe has recently attempted to dispel the rumours stating “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.” And later “In the end it’s been as good as we could have hoped for in terms of us not being hit with a points deduction which was of, course, of paramount importance. But we need to make sure we’re not in that position again.”

Unless the unlikely scenario where Gordon pushes for the move or hands in a transfer request – which I don’t see happening – all motivation for Newcastle to sell is now gone with the club firmly looking to organise behind the scenes to build more quality into the squad, rather than loose it.