Where does Anthony Gordon now rank in the most expensive English footballers of all time? | OneFootball

Anthony Gordon is set to become one of the most expensive English footballers of all time when his move from Newcastle United to Barcelona is completed.

The England international, who has been selected for Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad for this summer’s World Cup, is currently en route to a medical with the La Liga champions.

Here’s where Gordon will rank among the most expensive English footballers of all time once the transfer is completed.

7. Anthony Gordon – €80million

Outlets are reporting varying fees for Gordon’s imminent move to Barcelona, but whether it’s €70million or €80million (the difference appears to hinge on add-ons), but either way he stands in the same place in this list.

Inching ahead of Raheem Sterling’s transfer from Liverpool to Manchester City, Mason Mount’s transfer from Chelsea to Manchester United and Dominic Solanke’s move from Bournemouth to Tottenham (all approximately €64million), Gordon is set to become the seventh most expensive English footballer of all time.

Will he be worth the money? We have questions, but we could see him thriving on the continent. Look at Michael Olise, Raphinha and Luis Diaz. All have taken their games to a new level after moving to a dominant European super club.

6. Jadon Sancho – €85million

It feels like a long time ago that Sancho was widely regarded as one of the most promising young players in Europe and was an almost daily fixture of the transfer gossip columns.

Unlike his former Dortmund team-mates Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland, who have lived up to their billing with starring roles in Champions League wins, it just never happened for Sancho at Manchester United.

His penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final that summer set the tone for a miserable few years, and he’s somehow played as much football for the Three Lions as Patrick Bamford (one start against Andorra each) since his long-awaited, big-money move to Old Trafford.

Interestingly enough, Sancho has played in all three European finals – Champions League, Conference League and Europa League – in the past few years loaned out by Manchester United, but it was only really in his brief stint back at Dortmund that he genuinely caught the eye as more than just a fringe player.

Reports suggest that Manchester United are weighing up triggering a one-year contract extension in a bid to recoup some of their losses this summer, but surely a clean break and a fresh start is best for all concerned at this stage.

5. Harry Maguire – €87million

Ol’ slabhead has had his ups and downs at Manchester United but he’s earned a contract extension and firmly ensconced himself in cult hero territory.

The (former?) England stalwart somehow remains the most expensive defender of all time. Not just English. All defenders, anywhere. Period. Funny old game.

4. Harry Kane – €100million

“Harry Kane is the best transfer we’ve ever made,” Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeness recently told Das Erste.

“Bayern are a buying club, not a selling club.”

It was a lot of money for a player pushing 30 who’d never won a thing, and Kane’s detractors enjoyed a good laugh when his debut season somehow ended trophyless.

We found ourselves wondering whether the England captain was genuinely cursed after the emergence of Xabi Alonso’s Invincible Bayer Leverkusen side following Bayern’s unprecedented 11 Bundesliga titles in a row.

But normal service has resumed with Bayern domestically dominating once again – with Kane fulfilling the void left by Robert Lewandowski as their indisputable star man and unstoppable goal machine.

Kane has just won a second European Golden Shoe in three years, has elevated Bayern back to being genuine Champions League contenders, and is currently leading the race for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

We’ve lost count of the number of €100million transfers that have gone badly wrong, but this isn’t one of them.

3. Jude Bellingham – €103million

Bellingham’s three seasons with Real Madrid have been a land of contrasts.

He looked Ballon d’Or-worthy in his debut campaign. An all-action, box-to-box talisman that perfectly bridged the gap between Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe. He won the Champions League and La Liga and was arguably their best player on both fronts.

But it’s been two frustratingly trophyless campaigns since. Fitting Bellingham alongside both Vinicius Junior and Mbappe is a puzzle that Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa have all failed to work out.

Good luck, Jose Mourinho.

2. Declan Rice – €116million

That one went alright, didn’t it?

1. Jack Grealish – €117million

There’s a little bit of revisionism with this one.

The popular narrative is that Pep Guardiola sucked all the joy out of Grealish’s game, turning him into Manchester City’s ‘rest station’ in the Catalan coach’s micro-managed system.

Sure, Grealish is no longer the maverick entertainer that everyone demanded Gareth Southgate unleash for England, but for a time he did fulfil an important role in Guardiola’s team. He enjoyed an excellent relationship with Erling Haaland and was among their key players in City’s peak 2022-23 treble-winning campaign.

He’s lost his way since, showing an ember of the old spark in this season’s loan to Everton, and City will surely have to stomach a major loss when he eventually moves on. But it wouldn’t be fair to paint a player who made 50 appearances in a treble-winning campaign, including 90 minutes in a Champions League final, as a total flop.