Liverpool was never going to sanction a transfer deal for Anthony Gordon that involved sacrificing Jarell Quansah, but there is admiration at Anfield for the Newcastle United and England winger.
After the PSR deadline passed with Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson being sold for a combined $86m (£68m/€80m), Newcastle’s desperation for a sale to go through has gone. But it isn’t necessarily the end of the story: the fact that Gordon was put forward as a possible solution to cash in on remains intriguing given, according to Transfermarkt, he only has another two years left on his deal.
Having seen that there was interest from Liverpool, that would surely complicate things when it comes to negotiating a new deal at St James’ Park. According to Fabrizio Romano, writing for Caught Offside, Gordon was “over the moon” with the idea that he could be moving to Anfield even if a deal to make that happen was “never really close”.
It was only 18 months ago that Gordon left Liverpool’s city rival Everton in a $51m (£40m/€47m) deal. And at the time, while Gordon has offered plenty of hints since that he is a Reds fan, he was extensive in his goodbye message to his former club.
“To Everton… I came to this club at the age of 11 and not only did it give me a place to play football but it gave me a second family,” Gordon wrote on social media. “This club has shaped me into the footballer and more importantly the person I am today, it has given me everything I could have asked for and more.”
