If there’s one man Newcastle United fans are divided on it’s Allan Saint-Maximin, if there’s two then the other would be Anthony Gordon.
Anthony Gordon joined Newcastle in January in a £45million move from Everton which was surrounded in drama.
Since his move he’s not really broken his way into the starting line-up but we did see him have a touchline spat with Eddie Howe. We also had to wait until the last game of the season to see him bag his first goal for the club.
Gordon admitted his fitness was way off the level expected of him at Newcastle
After the season wrapped Gordon was very candid in an interview with NUFC TV where he admitted the fitness levels at Newcastle stunned him and he was way off the pace.
He went on to suggest that this summer with the England Under 21s should have him returning to Newcastle’s Benton training ground in much better shape and much more ready to go.
If his appearances in the first three games for England in the U21 European Championships are anything to go by, he’s already well on his way.
Gordon already has a goal and an assist in the competition and has been a big part of the Young Lions’ success in the tournament so far. He will likely be in the starting lineup on Sunday to face Portugal in the Quarter Final.
Gordon’s pace is devastating and is a huge part of his game
One thing we have seen from Gordon is his pace – described as ‘electric’ and ‘the quickest thing I’ve ever seen’ by his Young Lions teammate Charlie Cresswell – we just need to see the levels of consistency he’s showing for England now for Newcastle.
It was a difficult season for Gordon last year, playing in that struggling Everton team, being literally chased out of the ground by angry fans and then not really doing much to heal the rift when he left. It’s likely that his head wasn’t 100% focused when he arrived and Eddie Howe will have been aware of that.
Now though, it seems like Gordon is a man possessed and has set himself the goal of becoming a regular starter for the Magpies next season and I for one am extremely excited to see what Gordon can bring to Newcastle when he’s firing on all cylinders.