'It's clear' - Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon issue revealed amid new contract talks & Liverpool interest

It was a difficult summer in many ways for Gordon and Newcastle with the winger subject to transfer interest from his boyhood club Liverpool while away with England at Euro 2024. Despite being away on international duty for the majority of the summer, the 23-year-old was limited to just five minutes of action for the Three Lions.

He then returned to Newcastle but played just 45 minutes in pre-season before starting the opening three Premier League matches this season.

“Anthony's had an unusual summer by his standards, a long stretch at the Euros where he didn't play so naturally that's a long period without game sharpness and everything you need to get,” Howe admitted. “Then he comes in for us and has a two-week pre-season and pre-season's are usually five to six weeks.”

Gordon has scored once in his opening three Premier League matches for Newcastle this season but concerns were raised to Howe regarding the winger’s fitness and performance levels so far.

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“It's clear Anthony is slightly off on his normal fitness levels, especially from last year where he worked tirelessly to get into the best physical shape he could be,” added the Newcastle boss. “At the moment, we're trying to get him fit in the games, we're tying to leave him on the pitch as long as we can knowing that we can't really train him because we've had a busy spell.

“He's getting his fitness from the matches which is never ideal, but he will be fine. Touchwood as long as he stays injury-free, we'll get him up to speed quickly.” 

Gordon will be hoping to add to his four England caps when England face the Republic of Ireland and Finland in the Nations League on Saturday, September 7 (5pm kick-off) and Tuesday, September 10 (7:45pm kick-off) respectively. The winger is also in talks regarding a new contract at Newcastle United having signed a ‘long-term’ deal ahead of his £45million arrival from Everton in January 2023.