Following Liverpool’s brief links with a deal for Newcastle‘s Anthony Gordon, the Magpies’ chief executive has now given an emphatic verdict on a sale.
For around a 24-hour period, it seemed feasible that Gordon could make the switch to his boyhood club this summer, having been offered to Liverpool.
Newcastle were seeking to meet their PSR targets in order to avoid any sanctions by the Premier League, and the England winger was one of those desperately touted for sale.
It has been widely reported that Liverpool rejected a deal due to the terms laid out by Newcastle, which included a sizeable transfer fee and Jarell Quansah going the other way.
While those within Newcastle are said to have been left with “lingering fears” that Gordon’s head has been turned, chief executive Darren Eales is adamant he will not be sold.
“Look, you know what the market is like, there will always be noise around any sort of transfer deadline,” he told journalists including the Northern Echo‘s Dominic Shaw this week.
“For us, it was one of those situations where we knew what we had to get to.
“In the end we had to do the deals that were right for the club, that made us compliant. So, from that perspective, we did what we had to do.
“But we kept what I would say are our core players, the type of players like Isak, Gordon, Bruno, Joelinton – those players who are our core.”
Asked by The Athletic if he expected the trio of Gordon, Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes to remain Newcastle players this season, Eales simply replied: “Yes.”
Liverpool, for their part, are not reported to be considering a further pursuit of Gordon, though the offer to sign him came after a previous enquiry into his availability.
No room in the squad?
The 23-year-old is clearly admired by those on the Reds’ recruitment team, but unless he pushes for a transfer it is unlikely that he will now move.
As it stands, Arne Slot‘s squad is well stocked in Gordon’s natural position on the left, with Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez all capable of playing there.
If Diaz were to depart, of course – with both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain interested – the matter could change for those in Liverpool’s hierarchy.
But it is more likely that any new arrival in attack would be focused on the right wing, with Mohamed Salah currently in the final year of his contract.
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