Everton have accepted a fee from Newcastle United for England Under-21 winger Anthony Gordon, according to reports.
Gordon starred for the Toffees last season as they narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
After a decent start to 2022-23, the 21-year-old’s form has dipped with Everton in another relegation battle.
And despite coming through the club’s youth academy and initially endearing himself to the fans, he has been pushing for an exit this month.
Gordon has gone to some pretty extreme lengths by refusing to turn up for training this week.
His methods have clearly worked, with his £60million asking price being driven down to somewhere in the region of £40m, which Newcastle will obviously be delighted with.
Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie provided plenty of updates on Friday and has now revealed that a fee has been agreed between the two sides.
He says Newcastle will pay £45m for Gordon, who will have his medical ‘in the next 24 hours’.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reckons the fee is £40m with personal terms already agreed. The young winger will pen a long-term contract.
The previous £60m asking price was described as “laughable” by former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan.
“He’s not worth £60m. If they can get something around £30m or maybe £40m with add-ons,” Jordan said.
Jordan was not lying, £60m for Gordon is laughable. You could even say £40m is laughable.
The 21-year-old scored four and assisted three in 40 matches across all competitions last season.
This term, he has three goals in 18 games, and has picked up seven yellow cards.
Seven goals and eight assists in 78 Everton matches is not the sort of return you would expect from a £40m attacking player.
In comparison, Newcastle currently have Jacob Murphy, who has six goals and 10 assists in 131 matches for the Magpies.
Well done Newcastle, you’ve signed another Jacob Murphy – who can’t get into your starting XI.
Furthermore, Eddie Howe has Allan Saint-Maximin at his disposal, and has rarely started him this term.
While there could be a debate about whether or not Gordon is much better than Murphy, I think it is safe to say that he is not as good as Saint-Maximin.
On the other hand, Newcastle fans have a lot of faith in Howe and will feel like he can get Gordon to reach another level.
The player has also been playing under Frank Lampard, who is clearly not as good of a coach as the former Bournemouth boss.
I may end up with egg all over my face, but I cannot see Gordon being too much of a success at St James’ Park.
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