Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has set about proving Gareth Southgate wrong.
The 23-year-old was part of the England squad that went to the Euros in Germany, but the Newcastle United star only made one appearance.
Anthony Gordon was regularly snubbed by Gareth Southgate, despite England desperately needing more width and pace. Instead, the Three Lions used either Phil Foden or Jude Bellingham on the left, which was a complete waste of their talent.
It was reported that Southgate opted against picking Gordon because of the bike incident, while the winger’s comments about England needing to be more unpredictable did not go down well either.
Gordon was disappointed not to play much at Euro 2024, but is now establishing himself as an England regular.
He started five out of six Nations League games under Lee Carsley, with Gordon scoring his first England goal against Ireland on Sunday.
Andros Townsend makes Anthony Gordon claim
Gordon is making the left wing position his own, and former Toon player Andros Townsend has stated that it now belongs to him ahead of Foden or Bellingham.
Townsend has appeared on BBC Sounds’ Monday Night Club, and admitted that England are better with Gordon’s natural width, rather than asking Foden or Bellingham to play out wide.
“The biggest thing that has come out of this is Anthony Gordon,” he said.
“For me, he’s the first choice on the left now.
“There’s no ‘can we put Jude Bellingham there? Can we put Phil Foden there?’. Anthony Gordon has the shirt at the moment. If Bellingham and Foden want to play, it has got to be in the number 10.
“We’re so much better with two direct wingers, with energy and pace. That has been evident in Carsley’s games.”
It is obvious what Thomas Tuchel must do with Anthony Gordon
Now the Carsley era is over, with Thomas Tuchel set to start work as the new England manager on January 1st.
It could be good news for Gordon, as Tuchel was a big fan of him back when he was at Everton. In fact, Gordon has admitted that he was desperate to play under Tuchel at Chelsea, only for that transfer to collapse.
Now Gordon will get the chance to work with Tuchel, and he will hope to be a regular under him. He has proven he should be, making that left wing position his own in recent months.
While Tuchel needs to work out how to get the best out of Bellingham and Foden, the answer is not to force one of them out wide. They play their best football in central areas, while Gordon has shown what a force he can be in an England shirt.
As Townsend says, he should be England’s left winger, even if it means one of Foden or Bellingham does not start for the Three Lions.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
