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Louise Thomas

Editor

Anthony Gordon’s summer transfer to Liverpool looks increasingly more doubtful as Newcastle manager Eddie Howe devises a long-term plan for the England winger.

Howe was forced to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) by raising £60m when the financial year ended on June 30.

To avoid a hefty points deduction, the Tyneside manager considered a possible move for Gordon to his boyhood club, Liverpool, when the transfer window opened.

The 23-year-old, however, looks set to remain at Newcastle, where Howe is confident that the talented forward will shine.

“I’d welcome Anthony back with three arms if I had them,” Howe said “He’s an integral part of what we’re doing.

“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.”

Howe takes his squad to Japan this weekend for their pre-season tour, but Gordon, who is taking some time off after Euro 2024, will not be on the plane.

Newcastle will also be without midfielder Elliot Anderson, who has signed with Nottingham Forrest, and winger Yankuba Minteh, who will enter next season playing for Brighton.

Howe has expressed his disappointment after saying goodbye to the two youngsters, targeting his frustration at the £60m PSR burden he was presented with.

“I want to make that clear we didn’t want to sell any of the players we sold,” he said. “Elliot’s someone we’ve invested a lot of time in and it defied the inner feeling we all had associated with the club, it felt wrong.”

There were talks of a departure from Newcastle for Howe, too, after the managerial post for the national team became vacant when Gareth Southgate resigned last week, following his team’s defeat to Spain at the Euro 2024 final.

Howe, though, remains committed to his club, despite harbouring concerns that new sporting director Paul Mitchell and performance director James Bunce, could reduce his autonomy.

The 46-year-old hinted at his concerns last week and made it clear he would need to be backed in order to stay at St James’ Park, saying: “There’s been so much change that we need a period of time to know how we’re all going to work and set the boundaries. It’s for the benefit of Newcastle, not for the benefit of me because the club’s the most important thing in all of this.

“My commitment to Newcastle is unwavering and it has been since I came to the football club. As long as I have certain things for me – as in I’m happy, I’m allowed to work in the way I need to work in order to get the best out of me and I feel supported – then that will never change.”

That being said, there will be plenty of time for Howe to build a working relationship with his new colleagues over the summer, ahead of what he hopes will be a more successful campaign following a disappointing seventh-place finish last season.

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