Anthony Gordon has gone from strength to strength since becoming a Newcastle United player.
The 23-year-old has taken his game to new heights since joining Newcastle United, arriving from Everton in January 2023 for an initial £40million and becoming one of Newcastle’s most expensive signings ever.
It took Anthony Gordon a little bit of time to settle, but now he is one of Eddie Howe’s most important and most reliable players.
He was outstanding for the Magpies last season, and Gordon has now been rewarded with a new Newcastle contract. He has committed his best years to Newcastle United, proving just how happy he is on Tyneside.
However, his move to the North East almost did not happen.
Anthony Gordon makes Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea admission
That is because a few months before signing for Newcastle, he was eyeing up a move to Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel was desperate to sign Gordon after seeing him play for Everton, and it was reported that the Blues were willing to pay £60million for him.
The deal did not go through, but now Gordon is going to get the chance to work with Tuchel, with the 51-year-old recently announced as the new England manager.
Ahead of his arrival, Gordon has admitted to the Telegraph that he really wanted to sign for Chelsea in the summer of 2022 because he wanted to play for Tuchel.
“It was quite close to be honest,” he said.
“I was desperate to go at the time and work with him, especially. I felt like my style would suit his style of play, the way he was playing at Chelsea which was very exciting for me.
“It was a big opportunity for me that didn’t end up happening and I’m looking forward to getting to work with him a couple of years later.”
Anthony Gordon had a lucky escape with Chelsea transfer
It is no surprise that Gordon wanted to leave Everton and join Chelsea in 2022. They were a Champions League club, while they had just won the European Cup a year earlier.
All the while, they had one of world football’s top coaches in Tuchel. Of course Gordon wanted to swap Goodison Park for Stamford Bridge.
But he will be glad the move did not materialise, as the Blues are only just re-finding their feet after a period of turmoil.
While Gordon wanted to go to Chelsea and play for Tuchel, he would not have got the opportunity to do so for long. Tuchel was sacked by Chelsea in September 2022, just weeks after the new season had started.
It was a lucky escape for Gordon, whose fortune only grew larger when he joined Newcastle United a few months later.
Gordon is now a Newcastle United hero
At St James’ Park, Gordon is idolised. He is a hero on Tyneside, and gets the love and adulation his performances deserve. It is the type of love and adulation that he might not have gotten at Chelsea.
All the while, the move to Newcastle gave him the chance to work with Eddie Howe, the man responsible for taking Gordon’s game to the next level.
Under Howe, Gordon has shown constant improvement. He is now one of the Premier League’s best attackers and an England regular. You could even argue that Gordon is Howe’s best Newcastle signing.
While he was desperate to join Chelsea, that deal collapsing was probably the best thing that could have happened to Gordon. He has become one of Newcastle’s main men, and I am not sure the same would have happened at Chelsea amid all their turmoil.
Gordon got lucky, and now he is still going to get the honour of playing for Tuchel, as he gets set to be the next England manager.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
