Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe needs to keep his squad as fit as possible.
It was a frustrating summer transfer window, and one that ended without Newcastle United making a major signing.
Marc Guehi’s transfer from Crystal Palace to Newcastle United collapsed, despite Paul Mitchell thinking he could get a deal done. Then Newcastle’s attempt to sign Anthony Elanga on deadline day failed, leaving Eddie Howe with a squad that has not been strengthened.
It means that Howe is going to have to get every ounce out of the players he has available, and hope that he avoids the same injuries that hindered his squad last season.
Anthony Gordon was so resilient for Newcastle last season
Newcastle had so many injuries last year, but there were a few Toon players who were available for pretty much the entire campaign.
Anthony Gordon, Fabian Schar and Bruno Guimaraes barely missed a game, and that is despite the former taking a huge amount of whacks from opposition defenders.
Gordon’s fitness levels were incredible, and they contributed to him enjoying the best season of his career.
Eddie Howe makes admission about Anthony Gordon’s fitness
But the 2024/25 campaign is proving to be tougher for Gordon, who has looked off the pace since the new season kicked off.
Following the 2-1 win over Tottenham, Howe has told iNews that Gordon is not quite at the fitness level he needs to be after an ‘unusual summer’.
“Anthony has had an unusual summer by his standards,” he said.
“He had a long stretch at the Euros where he didn’t play so naturally I think that’s a long period without game sharpness, everything you need to get.
“When he comes back to us he gets a two week pre-season, pre-seasons are usually five to six weeks. I think it’s clearly that Anthony is slightly off on his fitness levels, especially where he was last year where he worked tirelessly to get into the best physical shape he could be.
“At the moment we’re trying to get him fit in the games, we’re trying 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. It’s never ideal. He will be fine, touch wood as long as he stays injury-free we’ll get him up to speed quickly.”
Gordon is going to get better for Newcastle this season
By his standards, it has been an underwhelming start to the new season for Anthony Gordon.
He once again blew hot and cold on Sunday, as Newcastle beat Tottenham 2-1.
It seemed as if the £40million man was playing in moments, and that now makes sense given what Howe has said about his fitness.
While he certainly is not unfit, he is not at the level he needs to be to play as well as he did last season.
Frustratingly for Newcastle, Gordon will now disappear. He has been named in the England squad for the Nations League games against Finland and Republic of Ireland, which means more time not training with his Newcastle United teammates.
Given the summer he endured, it is going to take Gordon a bit of time to get back to his absolute best.
In the meantime, other attackers need to step up, as Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy did on Sunday.
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