Anthony Gordon’s move to Barcelona is a disaster for Man United | OneFootball

Anthony Gordon is in the process of undergoing his Barcelona medical and, if all goes well, will soon complete a £69 million move to the iconic Spanish side from Newcastle United. Hansi Flick’s side moved quickly to finalise the deal, swooping in to snatch the England international from the clutches of Bayern Munich, who were also interested.

The unexpected move for Gordon is sure to complicate Barcelona’s pursuit of Marcus Rashford. The former Manchester United star spent last season on loan at the La Liga winners, who had an option to sign the England international for just £26 million.

Over recent months, however, reports began to circulate suggesting Barcelona were not interested in signing Rashford permanently for that price, and their move for Gordon appears to be the final nail in the coffin of the Mancunian securing his dream move to Spain.

Marcus Rashford

Rashford enjoyed a solid campaign with the legendary Spanish side, making 49 appearances across all competitions. The England international proved to be an effective asset in Barcelona’s attack too, scoring 14 goals and registering a further 14 assists.

His attacking threat and strong numbers suggested Barcelona would be keen to secure the winger’s services on a permanent basis, especially with the £26 million fee attached to the deal widely believed to be too cheap for a player who scored 138 goals for the Red Devils and registered a colossal 79 assists.

The recruitment team at Manchester United will now be forced to try to find another suitor for the wantaway star, as removing Rashford’s eye-watering wage bill from the books will grant the club greater freedom to operate in the summer transfer window, especially with fellow top earner Casemiro set to leave this summer too.

Sandro Tonali

Gordon’s high-priced move to Barcelona does not only complicate the future of Rashford, though. It also means United will have a much harder time negotiating a move for Newcastle’s dominant midfielder Sandro Tonali.

Tonali enjoyed yet another fine season for the Magpies, and as a result United are reported to be considering a move for the Italian international. However, the price Newcastle are demanding for the midfielder is proving to be a stumbling block for United, with the Red Devils hoping to negotiate a lower fee.

However, the funds from Gordon’s move will put Newcastle in a much stronger financial position and, as such, they will not feel any pressure to offer a cut-price deal for one of their prized assets.

Lewis Hall

Another Newcastle player on United’s radar is marauding left-back Lewis Hall. The former Chelsea player made 30 appearances in the Premier League this season, delivering a number of standout performances and making life extremely difficult for every winger he came up against.

The Red Devils are believed to be in the market for a left-back to share the game time with Luke Shaw, and many fans believe Hall would be the perfect successor to the only United player to have started every Premier League game this season.

However, with Gordon set to leave for sunnier shores, it seems almost impossible that Newcastle would consider selling Hall too. To do so, they would be decimating the left-hand side of their team and finding replacements of equal quality would be an astonishingly difficult task.

Featured image Aziz Karimov via Getty Images

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