Newcastle United have three players in the current England squad, but it could have been four.
Out of the 12 Newcastle players that are currently away on international duty, three of them are with England.
Anthony Gordon, Nick Pope and Tino Livramento are in Lee Carsley’s squad for the Nations League games against Republic of Ireland and Finland. Two of them made quite the impression on arrival, with Gordon and Pope turning up with bin bags!
They will hope to impress on the international stage, and could get the chance to play alongside Marc Guehi – someone who almost became their Newcastle United teammate.
Newcastle’s failed Marc Guehi bid
Newcastle United spent most of August trying to bring Marc Guehi to St James’ Park.
Guehi was Eddie Howe’s top target, as Paul Mitchell set about trying to sign the 24-year-old from Crystal Palace.
However, that proved to be impossible. Newcastle pulled out of a deal to sign Guehi on August 29th, with Palace demanding £75million for the defender.
Mitchell thought he could sign Guehi for Newcastle, but he was wrong, and the Magpies ended the summer with no major arrivals.
Nick Pope uses Newcastle ‘bid’ to describe Marc Guehi
As the England players prepare for their upcoming Nations League games, they are doing the media rounds.
Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope have appeared together on the ITV Sport YouTube channel, playing a game of ‘guess who’. They had to describe a player without using their name, shirt number, position or the club they play for, and that resulted in the Newcastle duo talking about Guehi.
Pope: “We bid for him, and we didn’t get him.”
Gordon: “Marc Guehi.”
Pope: “So I’ve heard…rumour has it.”
Gordon really wanted Guehi at Newcastle
Gordon genuinely looked gutted when he realised that Pope was alluding to Guehi.
The players will have been well aware of Newcastle’s attempt to sign the centre-back, just as the fans were.
And while it was frustrating for the Toon Army, it will also be frustrating for the players. They will know how good Guehi is, while they also want top level talent to arrive and help the team.
For Gordon, he even spoke about wanting Guehi at St James’ Park before the transfer saga properly kicked off.
During Euro 2024, Gordon was asked by TalkSPORT about the possibility of Guehi joining him at Newcastle United, amid speculation that he was a target for the Magpies.
“I haven’t actually seen the Newcastle links,” he said.
“But it goes without saying I’d absolutely love him to come because he’s a top player and he’d make us a better team.”
Guehi would have made Newcastle a better team, but he remains at Crystal Palace.
It is reported that Newcastle will likely target Guehi again in January, and by then the hope will be that his asking price has decreased. However, that may only attract more suitors and lead to more competition for his signature.
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