Newcastle United boss reveals Anthony Gordon Everton 'message' ahead of 'hostile' Goodison Park return

Anthony Gordon returns to Goodison Park in excellent form for Newcastle United under Eddie Howe.

Gordon joined Newcastle from Everton in January for an initial £40million fee with a further £5million in add-ons. The 22-year-old came off the bench in The Magpies' 4-1 win at Everton last season but is likely to start this time around.

The winger has scored six goals and assisted three in the Premier League so far this season for Newcastle. His match-winning strike against Manchester United on Saturday saw Gordon double his Premier League goal tally since arriving at St James' Park.

Gordon has insisted that the Everton match is 'just another game' for him. And Magpies boss Howe has conveyed a similar message.

"I'm sure he would have thought about it and I'm sure he'll be going through the mental process of preparing for the game," Howe admitted. "My message to him would be just to play a normal game and don't overthink it.

"It's not the first time he's been back. I'm hopeful he can just concentrate on his football and continue to play as well as he has."

Having reportedly refused to train at Everton to force a move to Newcastle, Gordon is likely to receive a hostile reception at Goodison Park on Thursday evening (7:30pm kick-off). But Howe wants his players to simply enjoy their football rather than look to feed off any animosity from the stands.

When asked if Gordon can thrive in the type of atmosphere expected at Goodison Park, Howe said: "It's a difficult question to answer. I don't know.

"Anthony has to be prepared for whatever reception he gets and take it, but just focus on his football. That's all he can do. If you start thinking about external things that you can't control then you take your mind off what you can control.

"He needs to control all the things that make his performance as good as he can, which he did against Manchester United, and has been doing on a consistent basis lately.

"It's great to see him score goals, assist goals and look like he is enjoying his football because if a player is in that frame of mind, they are going to perform better. That's all he's got to try and do - just enjoy the game."