Anthony Gordon finally netted his first goal for Newcastle United in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on the final day of the season.
Since his £45million transfer from Everton, Anthony Gordon has only really shown flashes of what he can do on the pitch for Newcastle.
Used as a substitute more often than not, Gordon was given the nod to start today against Chelsea and the pacy winger found himself on the scoresheet after just nine minutes, tapping in from close range as the woeful Chelsea defence just stood and watched.
Eddie Howe praised Anthony Gordon’s ability after the Chelsea game
After the game, Eddie Howe praised the 22-year-old, saying (via The Chronicle): “It was an important moment for [Anthony Gordon]. He contributed to that first half, took his goal very well and is a player of undoubted ability. We want that to continue next year.”
With a full pre-season ahead of him, Eddie Howe and the Newcastle fans will be expecting Gordon to show what he can do more consistently next season.
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
His blistering pace is a huge asset, so hopefully there’ll be a lot of work done over the coming months to work out how Newcastle can take full advantage of that when he’s on the pitch.
Of course, Gordon’s place in Howe’s grand plan for next season will also depend on who comes in to the club in the off-season, and indeed, who leaves. It’s highly unlikely that Gordon will be sold after only joining in January, but Allan Saint-Maximin, Jacob Murphy and even Miguel Almiron could possibly be moved on if decent bids come in, which puts Gordon higher up the pecking order.
Gordon should find himself featuring more often next season
However, Newcastle are still keen to add more attacking midfielders to the ranks with Dominik Szoboszlai and James Maddison featuring high on the shopping list, either of those could likely leapfrog Gordon.
The one thing to remember though, is Newcastle will be playing many more games next season so Howe will be forced to rotate his starting lineup a lot more than he’s been able to this season which should see Gordon given a fair crack.
I think we’ll start to see the return on investment on Gordon next season after a couple of months working in training with no competitive matches to distract him.