Eddie Howe will be secretly buzzing that Martin Keown was wrong about £45m Newcastle star – opinion

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After a gruelling few weeks, a lot of Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United stars are now away on international duty.

Bruno Guimaraes is away with Brazil, while Sandro Tonali and Kieran Trippier are preparing to face each other when Italy play England next week.

However, there are a lot of Newcastle players who have not been selected to represent their countries. Joelinton is not in the Brazil squad due to injury, while Alexander Isak has now withdrawn from the Sweden group.

Another Toon player who is not on international duty is Anthony Gordon, despite a blistering start to the season.

Martin Keown wanted Anthony Gordon in the England squad

The £45million man has been in fine form, and has arguably been Newcastle’s best player. This has led to calls for him to be named in the England senior squad for the first time.

Martin Keown was certainly eager for Gordon to be selected, with the former Arsenal defender suggesting that he should replace Marcus Rashford in the England squad.

However, Southgate did not listen to Keown. He stuck by Rashford, who has been rather underwhelming in a Manchester United shirt, while the red hot Gordon stays at home.

The 22-year-old will have ambitions of playing for England, but you have to imagine that his club manager Howe will be secretly delighted that he is not away on international duty.

Gordon’s international snub is a blessing for Newcastle

With so many games against high calibre opposition, the Newcastle squad is stretched. That is why the international break is such a nervy period for fans.

There will always be a worry that a key player is going to get injured whilst representing their country, which is not what Newcastle need at all with Joelinton, Isak, Sven Botman, Harvey Barnes and Joe Willock currently struggling for fitness.

Howe will not want to add Gordon to that list, so he will be secretly happy that he has remained on Tyneside.

This period is vital for Gordon, as he desperately needs a break. He did not get one over the summer, as he went straight from the Under-21 European Championships into pre-season with Newcastle.

The winger has been heavily involved for the Magpies, missing just one game so far. That came on Sunday, when he was suspended for the 2-2 draw with West Ham.

While Gordon does deserve to be in the England squad right now, his time will come. In truth, it is probably a blessing that he was not selected on this occasion.

It means he will be ready and rested for when domestic football returns, and ultimately more determined to prove that Gareth Southgate made a mistake.