On Friday night, Barcelona announced the signing of Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United for £70m.
The former Everton winger leaves St. James’ Park as a more complete, mature, and most importantly, better player, one that has thrived on the biggest stage in club football – The UEFA Champions League.
However, like most English youngsters, their character development occurred early in their careers, shaped by the rough and ragged edges of the English Football League.
Gordon was no different, a loan to Preston North End in January 2021 from Everton was the wonderkid’s first taste of senior football.
Whilst it wasn’t a particularly smooth ride, it was definitely one that helped morph him into the player he is today.
It was clear back then the talent he possessed, it was the opportunity to show it consistently that became evidently frustrating to Gordon during his six-month stay in Lancashire.
Preston North End Loan Spell
After a hectic January transfer window that saw club stalwart Ben Davies seal a surprising move to Liverpool on deadline day, North End had to add quickly to add more depth and quality to replace their lost centre-back.
In the deal with Liverpool, ‘The Reds’ would offer PNE a young, Sepp van den Berg on loan for six-months, with an option to extend the loan beyond the 2020/21 season.
Murmurs of another loan from Merseyside started to emerge, this time from Goodison Park.
Finch Farm wanted to give Gordon exactly what he needed, first team experience, and what better league to prove yourself in than the Championship for a club that had been struggling for most of the season.
Signing in the early afternoon, although much had not been known about this new fresh-faced scouser, rave reviews from Everton fans had many excited.
Because of COVID, the North End faithful never got the opportunity to bear witness to Gordon, having to settle for a glitchy iFollow stream or YouTube highlights to be their source of visualisation of the kid’s ability.
Only making 11 appearances during his tenure, one match against QPR in February 2021 showcased the excitement to the supporters.
On that night, broadcasted by the Sky cameras, his directness, technical ability, and aggression was there to be seen for the whole nation sitting in isolation.
Starring a 0-0 draw, the Sky punditry crew awarded him the man of the match award for his performance, makes it stranger that he wouldn’t be trusted going forward.
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Back At Goodison Park
Everton saw enough though, making him a mainstay in their first team in the 21/22 season, making 35 Premier League appearances and chipping in with six goal contributions – he started to gather the interest from the media and elite clubs in Europe.
After another season with four goals, he would make the move North East with Newcastle spending big to attract the Evertonian.
His first season at Newcastle, Gordon paid the €50m fee back with 26 G/A in the Premier League, earning himself an England call-up and a seat on the plane for Euro 2024.
Despite a slower season in 24/25 with 12 G/A in the Premier League, he would pick things up the next, becoming. a central figure in ‘The Magpies’ Champions League campaign where he scored 10 in 12, including a four goal display against Azerbaijan’s Qarabag.
Barcelona started to take notice of his performances in Europe, alongside Bayern Munich, who looked set to land the 25-year-old.
He leaves the North East a League Cup champion, an England regular, and now set to feature in the World Cup this summer for Thomas Tuchel.
Giving many Toon fans memories with his goal contributions and assisting Eddie Howe’s side establish themselves into the Champions League and enter a new era under their new Saudi ownership.
Now, he’ll call Catalonia his home for the next five years, playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
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Jack Tucker
Jack is a Sports Journalism graduate from University of Lancashire (formerly University of Central Lancashire) and is a prominent figure in the Preston North End community; as the host of the #1 PNE fan-owned podcast 'The Butter Pie Podcast', appearing multiple times on BBC Radio Derby and BBC Radio Coventry…