Anthony Gordon to Chelsea: £50m transfer target is a ‘phenomenal’ attacker with ‘all the attributes’

Todd Boehly has been keen to show the money still flows in west London. The player next on his list is Everton’s Anthony Gordon.

As it stands, the Blues are ready to bid £45m – yes, £45m – on the Everton youngster, with a £40m bid rejected by the Toffees earlier this week. Chelsea could even go north of £50m such is their eagerness to bring Gordon to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s summer spending

Marc Cucurella is Chelsea’s most expensive signing this window (Photo: Getty)

Marc Cucurella – Brighton, £60m

Raheem Sterling – Man City, £47.5m

Eddie Beach – Southampton, undisclosed

Kalidou Koulibaly – Napoli, £33m

Omari Hutchinson – Arsenal, free

Carney Chukwuemeka – Aston Villa, £20m

On the surface, the fee is frankly ludicrous for a player with less than two top-flight full seasons under his belt, although Chelsea will rightly point to Gordon’s potential. Something, we can all agree, he has in abundance.

Since his senior debut aged 16, Gordon has been one of Everton’s best young prospects. Now U21 coach Paul Tait described him as a “phenomenal” talent, who battled on despite the challenges he had dealing with football’s physicality in his youth.

“If you want to be a professional footballer, there are peaks and troughs,” Tait said. “Anthony didn’t have everything his own way here. He’s had to show real resilience at times. He had some problems – he was a late developer, so we had to wait for him to develop physically – and then suddenly he turned into this athlete.”

Now, Gordon’s play is characterised by such determination and athleticism. A direct winger, the England U21 international is known for his aggressive style, someone well at home with the ball at his feet, with pace to stretch the play, and all the tricks to beat and embarrass his opponent. It is no surprise that Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte and now Thomas Tuchel have all tried to lure the 21-year-old away from Goodison Park.

Yet, this interest hasn’t always been the case for a player that had previously struggled for game time in Merseyside. But having spent the second half of 2020-21 season on loan at Preston North End, it is under Frank Lampard that he really has had the chance to prove his worth. Remarkably, it took his new manager one match to sing similar praises to those of his youth coaches.

“He has great quality and loves this club,” Frank Lampard said. “It oozes out of him, which the fans love. He has a great attitude, all the attributes to do what he wants in the game. I won’t jump on him after one game and give him something to live up to. But he has what it takes and we saw that. He is a young player and can go a long way.”

What followed was the start of a Mason Mount-esc bromance with Lampard. Gordon started 19 of the manager’s first 20 games in charge and went on to register six goal contributions last season. Meanwhile, at Everton’s end-of-season awards, the academy graduate won the 2021-22 young player of the season and players’ player of the season.

There has been some criticism aimed at Gordon, however. The Everton attacker built something of a reputation after he received multiple bookings for simulation last season. At one point, Gordon was awarded Everton’s sixth booking for diving in the season after he stumbled in the penalty area in the Merseyside derby.

“People get reputations and he’s diving too much,” said Danny Murphy on TalkSport.

“There’s been a tendency of [diving] from Anthony Gordon,” added Jamie Carragher. “He’s somebody we’ve got to keep an eye on now.”

Of course, such moments usually come with inexperience, although Everton still view Gordon as a key man despite his age. And, on Merseyside, the stance is firm after Richarlison joined Tottenham Hotspur earlier this summer. Simply, Gordon is not for sale.

Everton’s manager Frank Lampard will hope to keep hold of Gordon (Credit: AP)

“We need him doing what he was doing last year, which Anthony is so hungry to do,” said Lampard. “He’s a link to the crowd, a link to the fans, a local boy who gives everything, a great talent.

“He’s the sort of player we want to build to go forward with.

“He’s going nowhere.”

Chelsea though seems to have other ideas. And while Everton were firm enough to deter interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle earlier this window, it could well that money talks in west London.

What does Chelsea’s bid for Anthony Gordon say about their recruitment?

Chelsea fans show support for their new owner (Credit: Reuters)

Chelsea might as well close their academy for good if they are willing to pay £50 million for Anthony Gordon.

When a team invests heavily in a youth set-up, but replaces its graduates with players of the same, if not lower, quality, that should be the only conclusion. 

Cobham has churned out numerous talented players in recent years, the issue is that most have never got a chance in west London. For some reason, Chelsea keep trying to replace them. And, they have done so with little success.

A good example is this bid. After all, it’s hard to imagine what Gordon will offer for half a £100 million – but here we are, once more, watching the Blues splash the cash on a player who is no better than the ones already in their ranks. His decent showing at an almost relegated side has brought a potential £45m offer. Everton want more. And, somehow, Chelsea look set to offer it. 

The size of the transfer bid tells only half the story, however. Of course, Todd Boehly is trying to make a point. Such seems to be the case for a window that has already seen Chelsea spend north of £170m.

But how long will it take for Chelsea to learn from their mistakes? In Italy, Fikayo Tomori has been a star, while Tariq Lamptey and Tino Livramento have been impressive on the south coast. They aren’t the only ones too. The club have also lost academy graduates Marc Guehi, Andreas Christensen, and Tammy Abraham in recent windows. While, Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher are both set for limited action this season, despite shining in loan spells last campaign. 

Should Gordon join Thomas Tuchel, the man to suffer will surely be Callum Hudson-Odoi; a player, who like many at Chelsea has found himself out of fashion, solely because they already play for Chelsea.

It shouldn’t be this way. Instead, the club should focus more on their academy rather than signing Gordon – otherwise, other clubs will continue to nab Chelsea’s young talents, and do so at the Blues expense.

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