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Liverpool target Anthony Gordon looks set to stay at Newcastle - but history dictates this is unlikely to be the end of the Reds' interest in the forward

Eddie Howe looks on during the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Newcastle United at Brentford Community Stadium on May 19, 2024(Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Eddie Howe could hardly have been more emphatic. The Newcastle United boss' latest assessment of Anthony Gordon's future has seemingly drawn a firm line under Liverpool's transfer interest, with the former Everton winger now looking set to remain at St James's Park next season.

The Reds' admiration of Gordon is well-documented and so it felt like the stars were aligning when the club entered into discussions with Newcastle about a potential deal for the 23-year-old last month. With the Magpies needing to raise funds or else risk falling foul of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), it appeared as if Liverpool were poised to swoop in and land one of their top targets, shrewdly deploying the “opportunistic” approach sporting director Richard Hughes has vowed will underpin much of the Reds’ summer transfer business.

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The terms of the mooted deal, however, were deemed to be unpalatable by Liverpool’s decision-makers, with Newcastle’s desire to see Jarell Quansah move in the opposite direction proving to be an insurmountable sticking point. The Reds walked away without tabling an official bid, while the Tyneside club sold academy graduate Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Gambian winger Yankuba Minteh to Brighton & Hove Albion in order to ease their financial woes.

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And, with the likelihood of Liverpool reviving their interest in Gordon this summer already diminishing by the day, Howe’s latest remarks seem to have poured cold water on the prospect of a deal being struck in the near future.

“I would welcome him back with three arms if I had them,” the Newcastle boss replied when asked if he was worried about Gordon’s future at the club this week. “He’s such an important player for us, we didn’t want to lose anybody.

“Why would we want to lose our best players? We fought really hard to make the right decisions. In those last few weeks (of June) it was very, very difficult. The rules forced us to do things we didn’t want to do, we didn’t want to lose any of the players sold.”

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He added: “Anthony is an integral part of what we’re doing. He needs a bit of a break, he’s had a really long season and the Euros will have been emotional for him as well.

“I’m confident he is OK. I think you can only judge Anthony on what he has given Newcastle on the pitch. He’s been committed. We’ve had no conversations over the summer where it has been fractious or negative.”

While Howe’s comments suggest Gordon is unlikely to agitate for a move any time soon, Liverpool’s history in the transfer market suggests there is still a distinct possibility the forward will end up at Anfield at some point down the line.

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Under FSG, the Reds are renowned for operating under a cloak of secrecy as far as transfers are concerned, with deals for top targets often being wrapped up swiftly and with minimal fuss. However, when Liverpool show their hand and make their interest public, their pursuit of said player is rarely unsuccessful.

Take the club’s pursuit of Virgil van Dijk, for example. The Reds famously approached the player while he was still under contract at Southampton in the summer of 2017 - something they later had to apologise for - with the Dutch defender even handing in a transfer request at St Mary’s ahead of deadline day.

A summer move to Anfield didn’t materialise however, a few short months later, Liverpool resumed their interest and brought Van Dijk to Merseyside in a £75m deal. On a slightly lesser scale, the Reds repeated the same trick when they captured the signature of Fabio Carvalho in May 2022, just four months after their botched attempt to sign him from Fulham.

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While the conditions surrounding a potential deal for Gordon are, of course, entirely different to the aforementioned duo, it would not be any great surprise to see Liverpool land the winger at the second time of asking, whether that be next summer or at some other point in the future.

It’s worth noting Gordon is a boyhood Liverpool fan, having started his youth career at the club before venturing across Stanley Park at the age of 11. Sources in the North East claim the 23-year-old wanted the move to Merseyside to happen and told his England team-mates as much while away on international duty last month, with the player’s representatives reportedly trying to revive the deal in the last few days of June, without success.

Gordon has previously made clear his admiration for the Reds, naming Steven Gerrard as his favourite player growing up and listing Mohamed Salah as a source of inspiration for his game. Furthermore, when asked to describe the best atmosphere he has witnessed on a football pitch, he told Channel 4: "Other than St James' Park, it's Anfield by far. I think because I'm from the city, I grew up watching it. Before the game when they sing ‘You'll Never Walk Alone, it's top level’."

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Meanwhile, with Salah out of contract next summer and question marks surrounding the long-term future of Luis Diaz, Liverpool will already be looking at bringing in the next generation of their forward line, with Gordon very much aligning with the profile the Reds are likely to be in the market for.

Add to that the fact there is plenty of uncertainty at Newcastle at present - Howe’s future is opaque while sporting director Dan Ashworth, who was instrumental in signing Gordon from Everton in January 2023, has recently left the club to join Manchester United - and it is easy to imagine a situation where the Magpies are facing an uphill battle to keep the winger in the North East long-term.

While Liverpool may have to put their interest in Gordon on the backburner for now, they will surely be keeping one eye on how the forward fares at St James’s Park next term. After all, once the Reds set their sights on a player, they usually end up getting their man.