Everton fight Newcastle United over Anthony Gordon value, £5m difference as transfer news drops
Everton and Newcastle are fighting over a £5million difference in valuation for winger Anthony Gordon, according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.
The 21-year-old has been at the centre of a transfer saga in the last week, with the likelihood of a move to St James’ Park at “50:50”, according to Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope (26 January).
Following the supposed interest from the Magpies, the Toffees ace skipped three consecutive days of training as scenes turned ugly before he surprisingly returned to Finch Farm for first-team training on Friday (27 January).
Despite Gordon’s absence at training, transfer insider Crook explained that the two clubs were yet to agree on a valuation of the attacker, with £5million the difference that is holding up the agreement.
Speaking live on White and Jordan (Friday 27 January), and as reported by talkSPORT, Crook said: “I’ve just had a message that, at the moment, the two clubs Newcastle and Everton are £5m apart in terms of fee.
“So that doesn’t seem insurmountable, although the message does go on to say that neither party is budging at this stage.
“So, there you go, hot off the press. Everton and Newcastle are £5m apart in terms of their valuation of Anthony Gordon, who really wants that move to St. James’ Park.”
Hardball
Frustratingly Newcastle hold the aces in this transfer saga, as Everton desperately need the money from Gordon’s sale to reinvest in their squad.
At the end of the day, the Magpies will have other transfer targets in their sights and can always drop their interest in the winger and go searching elsewhere. If this were to happen, Farhad Moshiri wouldn’t have the necessary funds to back the imminent incoming manager Sean Dyche.
There is a potential that Everton are keeping hold of Gordon to see whether Dyche would like to work with the England Under-21 international and give him the ultimate say on whether he leaves.
But if Gordon doesn’t want to stay at Goodison Park in the second half of the season, there is no point in Everton not budging in their valuation; however highly they rate him. For Dyche to wave his magic wand over this lacklustre Toffees squad, he will need players who are 100% committed to the project and the fight to avoid relegation.