Everton shouldn’t have Anthony Gordon regrets ahead of Newcastle reunion
Anthony Gordon will be hoping to upset his former Everton side on Saturday.
Everton welcome Newcastle to Hill Dickinson Stadium in a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, with David Moyes‘ side looking to snap a two-game losing streak in the Premier League.
The Toffees were beaten 1-0 by Man United last time out, whilst Newcastle are in strong form across all competitions at present, winning four out of their last five across all competitions.
Their 9-3 aggregate routing of Qarabag in the Champions League should fill Eddie Howe’s men with confidence ahead of their trip to Merseyside, as 11th plays ninth in an important top flight clash.
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Everton can still justify Anthony Gordon, Newcastle transfer
One such player who will also be riding high ahead of Saturday’s game is former Everton winger, Gordon.
The 25-year-old hit Qarabag for four in Newcastle’s first-leg tie on 18 February, with Toon essentially sealing their place in the Round of 32 with a 6-1 win in Azerbaijan.
For many Evertonians, it will probably still feel like yesterday when the Toffees sold Gordon to Newcastle in January 2023, in a deal that was reportedly worth up to £45million.
Since then, he’s established himself as a key player at St James’ Park, as well earning himself 16 England caps, but should Everton look upon his exploits in Tyneside with a real sense of transfer regret?
Probably not, and here’s why. Firstly, it’s important to remember the context of why Everton sold Gordon, as it was during the height of their PSR troubles.
Indeed, the Toffees had a 10-point deduction reduced to six in February 2024 for a PSR rule breach in 2021-22, and another two-point penalty in April 2024 for another breach relating to the 2022-23 season.
As such, because he was an Everton academy graduate and a homegrown player, his £45m deal went down as pure profit in relation to PSR, which massively helped to stabilise their financial position at the time.
On top of that, Gordon has only scored 21 times in the Premier League as a Newcastle player in over 100 appearances, and has just three in the top flight this term, with his other 11 coming in Europe and the FA Cup.
Therefore, his production in the Premier League hasn’t actually been hugely impressive for Newcastle, with his 11-goal campaign in 2023-24 his best league return, with six last year.
His sale also helped pave the way for Iliman Ndiaye’s summer 2024 move to Everton, and there probably won’t be many Toffees fans who would swap the Senegalese international for Gordon right now.
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Gordon has never turned up against Everton for Newcastle
Typically, when a player is sold from one club to another and then returns to play against his former employers with his new team, they have a tendency to haunt them.
However, in the case of Gordon against Everton, that simply hasn’t been the case so far in his Newcastle career.
In the five times he’s come back to face the Toffees as a Magpies player in the Premier League, he’s not registered a single goal or assist for Toon.
Has that now just been jinxed for Saturday, maybe. If so, then we can only apologise!
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