Anthony Gordon claps Newcastle fans
Anthony Gordon has been warned he faces a major fight for first-team football at Barcelona.
The England winger has completed a £70million move to the Nou Camp after the Spanish giants beat Bayern Munich to his signature.
Anthony Gordon at his Barcelona presentation3
Gordon completed a move from Newcastle to Barcelona on Friday for £70million
His move highlights a growing trend of British players packing their bags and moving to foreign leagues, despite the best wages remaining in the Premier League.
The 25-year-old is the latest arrival in Catalonia, after Marcus Rashford joined the club on loan last summer from Manchester United, with hope to make the deal permanent this transfer window.
Hansi Flick wants to keep the ex-United player on a permanent basis, but the clubs favours another loan deal or wants the Red Devils to reduce their asking price.
The United loanee has scored 14 goals and provided 14 assists this campaign, making 49 appearances.
However, despite Gordon being Barca's top priority this summer, Brassell raised his concerns on Sunday night over whether the former Everton man will find himself sat on the bench.
He understood the initial interest from the Catalan side: "I think the fit [between Gordon and Barcelona] is really interesting.
"A huge portion of British players are going abroad, which hasn't happened as frequently over the years, especially because the best wages are now in the Premier League.
"But we’ve seen a bit of a change in that in the last few years, we saw it with Scott McTominay, who embraced it from day one, and clearly looked like he wanted to be there.
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"Anthony Gordon is hell bent on making this a huge success. It’s a move that all three parties are happy with - selling club, buying club and player.
"I’m not 100 per cent sold on him. I’ve seen him a lot in the flesh, and I can understand the reasons for why he’s been recommended to Barcelona. His energy, his pressing, and the fact he’s learned to play the centre forward role a bit better.
Lamine Yamal injured3
Due to the amount of games Yamal played last season, Gordon will be a good addition to Flick's squad to add depth
"The fact that Julian Alvarez will be prohibitively expensive also helps. But correct me if I’m wrong, how does he get into that team ahead of Raphinha or Lamine Yamal, unless you have long-term fitness concerns over those players?"
Brassell believes the move becomes even more questionable when analysing the existing forward line at the Nou Camp.
He added: "My question is, if that’s the case, why don’t you stick with Marcus Rashford, who you know can already do that job and who is fine with that role.
"I know people talk about wages, but Rashford took a big pay cut to play there because obviously he really wanted to stay there, the idea that Barcelona are just picking up his Manchester United wages is false."
Barca currently hold an option to sign Rashford on for a permanent basis, for a fee worth £26m but they are trying to negotiate a drop in price.
Despite Gordon's transfer fee being nearly three times higher, the long-term finances make more sense for the Catalan hierarchy.
Marcus Rashford left winger of Barcelona and England celebrates with the trophy after winning the Spanish Super Cup3
Rashford is a firm fan favourite at the Nou Camp after scoring 14 goals last season
The ex-Newcastle man is almost four years younger than his fellow countryman, and his incoming salary is significantly lower than the reported £300,000-a-week at Old Trafford for Rashford.
Another element which could prevent Gordon from being in Flick's potential starting XI is the arrival of Julian Alvarez, but their initial £87m bid was rejected by Atletico Madrid, as they set an asking price of £104m for the Argentine.
In their pursuit of a sixth Champions League trophy, the board are hoping for a varied group of attacking recruits, who will support their campaign next season.
However, some eyebrows are bound to be raised when looking at the Liverpool-born winger's output.
If he is used centrally, he could be replacing a striker in Robert Lewandowski who has scored more than 629 goals in 869 games.
In contrast, Gordon, operating usually as a winger, has only scored 71 times in 304 appearances.
Ultimately, Barcelona's hierarchy and sporting director Deco will be hoping their new recruit will have the competitive edge to push Raphina and Lamine Yamal to the peak of their game, as well as supporting in cases of emergencies.