Newcastle United had a medical planned for £45m player last month, he was keen to sign

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Newcastle United very nearly signed the centre-back they are craving in June, as their PSR nightmare almost led to Anthony Gordon leaving the club.

It was a wild end to June for Newcastle United, with the Magpies desperately needing to raise funds or fail to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

If they had failed to comply, they would have received a points deduction, which PIF absolutely did not want.

In the end, it looks like Newcastle have been able to comply with PSR. Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson were sold, while a compensation sum arrived from Manchester United for Dan Ashworth.

Newcastle nearly let Anthony Gordon sign for Liverpool

But before those deals, Newcastle were getting desperate. In fact, they were so desperate that Anthony Gordon nearly left the club.

It was reported that Newcastle offered Gordon to Liverpool, as they searched for a last-gasp solution to their PSR nightmare.

In the end, a deal did not materialise, with Newcastle managing to raise the required funds to ensure they did not need to cash in on one of their best players.

But amid the talk of Gordon leaving, Newcastle did use it as an opportunity to address their centre-back search.

Newcastle wanted Joe Gomez to move the other way

When Newcastle sold Anderson to Nottingham Forest, they also used that deal to bring in Odysseas Vlachodimos.

And there was almost a similar situation involving Gordon, as reported by the Daily Mail.

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle United proposed signing Joe Gomez from Liverpool for £45million, with Gordon joining the Reds for £75million.

At the time, both Gordon and Gomez were representing England at Euro 2024, and the report adds that medicals were even scheduled to take place in Leipzig.

The Daily Mail state that Gomez was happy about the prospect of joining Newcastle United, as it would have allowed him to play regularly at centre-back.

Toon fans will be glad this transfer collapsed

Of course, the deal collapsed, with Gordon remaining with Newcastle United and Gomez staying at Liverpool.

There have since been suggestions that Gordon’s head has been turned, while the 23-year-old is yet to report for pre-season with Newcastle following his international commitments.

For now, he remains a Toon player, and that will hopefully be the case for years to come. Newcastle fans will be very grateful that this deal collapsed, despite Gomez being a very good defender.

The Magpies need a player like him, but not at the expense of Gordon. Keeping him was much more important, while Newcastle aim to sign an alternative right-sided centre-back.

The leading candidate to arrive is Malick Thiaw, with Newcastle aiming to agree a deal with AC Milan. Eddie Howe has complimented Thiaw in recent days, with supporters hopeful that the 22-year-old will swap the San Siro for St James’ Park.