Everton Fans Thought They Had Better End Of Deal – Ex-Winger Makes Claim | OneFootball

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Andros Townsend feels that Everton fans probably thought that they were getting the better end of the deal when Anthony Gordon was sold to Newcastle United for big money, but the picture looks different now.

Gordon, who joined Newcastle in 2023 for £50m, became the first player in the club’s history to score in three consecutive Champions League games after scoring against Benfica on Tuesday, leaving him on four goals and an assist this campaign.

Newcastle saw off Jose Mourinho’s Benfica 3-0 to climb to seventh in the Champions League table with six points, with the Portuguese manager putting an arm around Gordon at full-time in admiration.

Townsend, who had a two-year concurrent spell with Gordon at Everton, noted that while with the Toffees, Gordon, while blessed with natural pace, did not press from the front and work hard as required in present-day football.

Currently playing with Thai club Kanchanaburi Power, Townsend feels that while Everton fans might have felt at the time the sale of Gordon to be a good deal given the fee involved, the winger has since developed leaps and bounds, justifying the financial outlay.

Townsend said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast: “When I first joined Everton, he was a young lad and you could see he had quality.

“He had immense pace obviously, but he didn’t really work hard enough.

“The modern day winger needs to be the first line of the press and he wasn’t doing that.

“Then it started clicking for him, he started getting in the team, he started getting joy and the fans loved him.

“But even still, by the time Newcastle bought him for £50m, I think Everton fans were thinking they had the better end of the deal.

“Since then however, he’s just put it all together.”

Gordon surpassed Shola Ameobi on three goals to become Newcastle’s second highest goalscorer in the Champions League, jointly with Faustino Asprilla and John Beresford, with four.

Only Alan Shearer is ahead of Gordon with seven goals, with Gordon now having a real chance of catching up with or even surpassing the club legend this season.

Newcastle came close to losing Gordon to Liverpool in the 2023/24 summer when they were desperate to raise funds to meet PSR rules.

The Magpies though, ultimately managed to hang on to Gordon, despite Liverpool being his boyhood club, after raising considerable funds from the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh.

A former Newcastle defender recently insisted the club should hang on to players after developing them.

Newcastle will certainly be glad that they managed to hang on to Gordon the summer before last, and will now view him as a cornerstone around which they can build the side.

It remains to be seen if Everton ultimately feel they should have banked a larger fee from selling Gordon.