Newcastle boss confirms Arsenal target’s absence is partly transfer-related | OneFootball

Eddie Howe has confirmed that Anthony Gordon’s recent absence from the Newcastle United team is partly down to uncertainty over his future, with a summer transfer looking likely.

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Amid rumours of a transfer for Anthony Gordon this summer, Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has admitted the speculation has affected his recent team selections.

“When you get to this stage of the season, part of what we will be doing [is] looking to next year. So, yeah [there are doubts about Gordon’s future],” Howe confirmed.

“Anthony’s just come back from injury. The team has played well in his absence and [he’s not playing] with a partial view to the future, yes.

“We need to give players opportunities, we need to try things looking toward the future and next season. There are discussions that are potentially happening [on Gordon’s future] but not with me.”

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Luke Edwards reports for The Telegraph that Bayern Munich have approached Newcastle to ask about a price for Gordon, with the north-east club wanting around £80m, and Bayern indicating that they’d pay around £61m.

Talks have reportedly been amicable, but Newcastle want more. Gordon has behaved well so far, and his camp have been told he’ll be allowed to leave, but only on terms suitable to the club.

Edwards adds that other clubs are monitoring the situation, with Arsenal also having Gordon on their shortlist.

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The BBC have also reported in recent months that Gordon is in Arsenal’s sights. Sami Mokbel wrote in April that Gordon is “rated highly” by Arsenal, with the Gunners having identified a new left-winger as a priority this summer.

If Arsenal plan to rival Bayern for a transfer, they haven’t done much to show it in recent weeks, but that could change if it starts to look likely that an agreement will be reached.

For the time being, the Gunners obviously have other priorities. The Premier League title race will be decided next week, and the Champions League final is in a fortnight. After that, the focus will turn to the summer market.