Newcastle United hope to progress contract talks with Anthony Gordon as the club attempt to draw a line under an “unsettling” transfer window at St James’ Park.
The presence of club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and other senior members of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) at Newcastle on Sunday will focus minds on Tyneside this week. Although insiders insist the mood is “calm” at the club – and seven points from a possible nine is a fine start to the season – an honest review of transfer window missteps is under way.
While Al-Rumayyan’s visit was planned long before the failure of the summer transfer window, the club – most notably director of football Paul Mitchell and chief executive Darren Eales – have plenty of work to do to regain momentum lost in a close season of disappointment. Chief among that is moving to reassure and secure the future of their “crown jewels” including Gordon and Alexander Isak.
Gordon signed a “long-term” deal when he signed for Newcastle in January 2023 and the plan was always to open negotiations about an extension to that contract with terms that reflected the impact he had in a stellar first full season at St James’ Park.
Newcastle believe the length of Gordon’s contract protects them from transfer interest but the plan has always been to replicate the blueprint followed with Bruno Guimaraes, who committed to a long-term deal on improved terms earlier this year. He has now been promoted to the club’s on-field captain and has spoken about his desire to push the club towards a return to European football.
It feels like there is a measure of added urgency to talks Gordon after a destabilising close season at Newcastle when interest from Liverpool injected uncertainty into the winger’s long-term future.
Howe admitted last week that his squad had been left “unsettled” by a fractious summer when the club failed to add significant incomings and there was speculation around a number of key players, including the England man.
The Reds remain admirers of Gordon, a boyhood Liverpool fan, and there were talks between the two clubs as Newcastle investigated solutions to their profit and sustainability rules (PSR) deficit back in June. It is a matter of contention exactly what form those negotiations took but a deal was never close.
The central role of Luis Diaz in Liverpool’s perfect start to the season under Arne Slot has dampened Gordon talk at Anfield, while the winger himself has had a low-key start to the season.
There are good reasons for that. He was included in England’s squad for the Euros and entered the tournament in good form but was only used for a few minutes in a group game despite the team’s imbalance. Gordon was included in interim boss Lee Carsley’s first squad last week and Howe feels he will improve.
“Anthony has had an unusual summer by his standards,” Howe said. “He had a long stretch at the Euros where he didn’t play so naturally I think that’s a long period without game sharpness, everything you need to get.
“When he comes back to us he gets a two week pre-season, pre-seasons are usually five to six weeks. I think it’s clearly that Anthony is slightly off on his fitness levels, especially where he was last year where he worked tirelessly to get into the best physical shape he could be.
“At the moment we’re trying to get him fit in the games, we’re trying to leave him on the pitch as long as we can, knowing that we can’t really train him because we’ve had a busy spell. It’s never ideal. He will be fine, touch wood as long as he stays injury-free we’ll get him up to speed quickly.” Given his importance to Newcastle’s game plan, that feels critical.
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