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Anthony Gordon has failed to turn up for training at Finch Farm for the third day in a row with rumours about his future refusing to go away. The forward hasn’t been seen at the training ground since Frank Lampard was sacked on Monday.
Gordon was subject to serious interest from Chelsea in the summer and with less than a week left in the January transfer window, the forward is once again being linked with a move away from Goodison Park.
While Chelsea have reportedly cooled their interest in the 21-year-old, Newcastle are said to be interested in obtaining his signature. After a disappointing season, it’s highly unlikely that Everton will be receiving bids in the region of £60-70m like they were in the summer, but they are said to be hoping to get around £40m for Gordon.
Gordon himself appears to be keen on getting out of the club that he grew up at. Although his absence from training on Tuesday was planned, he has gone awol over the past two days without the permission of the club. He is yet to hand in an official transfer request although that could change as we get closer to the transfer deadline.
Rumours on social media circulated earlier in the week that Gordon had been in a bust-up with Conor Coady but the claims haven’t been reported by anyone with substance.
Anthony Gordon has said he’ll never play for Everton again. Supposed to have been slapped by Connor coady
— The toffee man (@Thetoffeeman22) January 24, 2023
Talks continue with Newcastle
Earlier today, SkySportsNews reported that Newcastle chiefs were locked in talks with Everton to reach an agreement on the transfer fee for Gordon. The Magpies are on the lookout for a new forward after letting Chris Wood join Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season.
Gordon is a different type of forward to Wood but would offer Eddie Howe an alternative option across his entire front line. Although Gordon has failed to live up to his expectations this season, a change of scenery could help reignite his career.
Everton are reportedly reluctant to sign off on any deal for Gordon until they’ve appointed a new manager. The last thing they want to do is sell a player who a new manager would want to keep. As it stands, Sean Dyche is the favourite for the job with Marcelo Bielsa still in contention.
If you look at how Dyche set up at Burnley, a player like Gordon might not be of interest to him. For Bielsa, however, young and fast players are paramount to the way that he likes to play so you’d think Gordon would be a player he’d like to have around.
An opportunity for investment
Cashing in on Anthony Gordon while his price is still relatively high makes the most sense from an Everton perspective. Even if he finishes the season off strongly at Goodison, he will only have 12 months left on his contract in the summer meaning his value is only going to decrease. £40m for a player who has only scored three goals this season seems like a good deal for the Toffees.
More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that it would give the new manager much-needed funds to bring in a couple of new faces ahead of what is set to be a monumental four months for the football club as they battle relegation.
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