Eddie Howe is really pleased with what the £45 million Newcastle player has accomplished this year
Eddie Howe identified one player in particular who he has been impressed with after Newcastle United recorded a 3-0 victory against Wolves.
It was a much improved team performance from Newcastle who had looked very disjointed lately, especially at the heart of their defence, but there was also some key individual displays vs Wolves.
Anthony Gordon grabbed Newcastle’s second of the afternoon after a great cross from Jacob Murphy which was spilled by the keeper, and speaking to NUFCTV, Howe shared how impressed he’s been with the winger’s mentality this season.
Howe says Newcastle star has a ‘goalscorers mentality’
Gordon joined the club from Everton for around £45m in January last year and many people had actually laughed at the fee at the time with some suggesting that his ability in the final third was nowhere near good enough.
However, after a slow start to life on Tyneside, the winger has developed into one of the best attackers in the league and has added so much to his game under the management of Howe.
His effort against Wolves was his ninth of the season which is an impressive feat in itself, but his ability to create goals as well as work hard to defend for his team makes him such a valuable asset to this Newcastle team.
Arguably what has been his most important quality, though, is being available for Howe throughout the entire season while almost every single player around him has had spells out.
Even when he was having to play the full 90 minutes twice a week during December in the middle of the injury crisis the attacker gave his all for the team and is exactly the type of player Howe wants in his side.
On Gordon, Howe said: “A goalscorer’s mentality from Anthony to follow the ball in and finish it well, so I’m delighted with his goal return this season and hopefully he can get more.”
Southgate should be watching Gordon’s displays for Newcastle
It’s not been a brilliant season for English left-wingers, but statistically there is one player who is currently head and shoulders above the rest and should be the frontrunner for that position in the summer tournament.
Marcus Rashford has been nowhere near his best for Man United this year having scored just five times in 32 appearances and his lack of effort to press glaringly obvious.
Jack Grealish is another option in the position but again he’s had little playing time for Man City and when he has come into the team he’s rarely made an impact after an impressive season last year.
Finally, Raheem Sterling has also been struggling for Chelsea having been dropped for their last game against Brentford and also falling out of favour with Gareth Southgate in his last England squad.
The only player who has been performing at a high level consistently is Gordon with now 14 goals and assists in 25 Premier League games, and it would be incredibly harsh to leave him out of the squad for Euro 2024.
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