Anthony Gordon's form and versatility could be crucial this season
Anthony Gordon celebrates with Harvey Barnes
Anthony Gordon's form in pre-season could be crucial for Newcastle United after a tumultuous summer.
Gordon has returned from his summer break fit and firing. The attacker admits he is hungry again after a year of speculation which saw him linked with a move to Liverpool.
Gordon operated as the central striker against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in their final friendly of the pre-season tour to the Far East. With Alexander Isak having missed the tour and William Osula having failed to make the most of his big chances by firing blanks against Celtic, Arsenal and K-League, Eddie Howe has been weighing up his options ahead of the Premier League opener.
Gordon will be key to that. With Harvey Barnes as an option for the left wing berth - the ex-Leicester City man showed his goal threat with a strike against Spurs - it could mean Gordon plays through the middle in the first Premier League game of the season against Aston Villa if Isak isn't brought back into the fold and a new striker hasn't been bought.
Regardless of whether the 24-year-old plays on the wing or through the middle, former Newcastle and England star Chris Waddle believes it's a big season for Gordon.
“We know Anthony Gordon has got a lot of pace," Waddle said. "He is very direct and he gets at you.
"That change of pace gives him a lot of success. What happens is teams start working out a little bit and start doing things differently to stop you.
“They start showing you in directions you don't really want to go and he's got to keep working on his game.
“We know he's got a lot of ability and a lot of pace and he can upset defences. We know that about full-backs in particular, so it's going to be a big season for him.
“He had an injury last year and he lost his shirt to Harvey Barnes and Barnes had a great run into the end of the season. Anthony Gordon was actually on the bench for quite a while. He couldn't get his shirt back.
“So it's up to him now with the World Cup approaching as well. A lot of these players need to be very consistent and they need to perform and come out the blocks very quickly to catch the eye of Thomas Tuchel and get themselves in that squad to go to the World Cup. It's a big season for people like Anthony Gordon.”
The Newcastle man suffered a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign with England, being restricted to just a couple of minutes on the pitch as a late substitute in one game by Gareth Southgate as the Three Lions reached the final, only to lose 2-1 against Spain.
Gordon is hoping to make Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad for next summer's tournament, having picked up an injury in the dying minutes of the German's first game in charge.
Waddle, who appeared at two World Cups for England, believes Gordon offers a better bet for the left-wing slot than players like Cole Palmer and Phil Foden.
“I think England have got about six number 10s at the minute," he added to Flashscore. "We need wingers and we need players to give that balance. There's not a lot of wingers around Anthony Gordon's quality.
“If he can come out the blocks quickly, he can get that England shirt on the left-hand side because at the minute we're asking midfield players to convert themselves to wide players, which I never like.
“To me, if you're playing a system where you have wingers, play a winger. Don't play a midfield player and say, I've got to fit him in the team.
“Cole Palmer is not a left winger. Play a left winger. Play a right winger if you're playing two wingers. I don't like it when people say, well, I've got to find a shirt for Jude Bellingham or Palmer and Phil Foden, it just won’t work.
“Where they're at their best, play them. If there's somebody better than them there, don't play them. Anthony Gordon is arguably one of England’s best options for that left-hand side. So it's up to Anthony Gordon to come out the blocks quickly.”