Three ways Barcelona could line up with Anthony Gordon | OneFootball

Barcelona are now closing in on the signing of Anthony Gordon, with the Newcastle United winger expected to become one of the first major additions heading into the 2026/27 season. 

The agreement between both clubs is already in place, and once the Englishman completes his medical examinations, he will officially become a Barcelona player.

The move is an interesting one from a tactical perspective because Gordon is not a rigid, one-dimensional winger.

While his natural role is clearly on the left side, his pace, pressing intensity and movement without the ball allow him to operate in several attacking structures.

For a Barcelona side that wants to become more vertical, aggressive and unpredictable under Flick, Gordon potentially opens multiple tactical possibilities. 

On that note, here are three ways Barcelona could line up with Anthony Gordon next season.

Gordon on the left

This is the most natural and likely role for Gordon at Barcelona.

Anthony Gordon could slot it in the left wing directly.

The English attacker is at his best when starting from the left side and attacking space aggressively. 

One of his biggest strengths is his ability to run in behind defenders repeatedly during transitions, something Barcelona have lacked consistently in recent years outside of certain moments from Raphinha.

From the left wing, Gordon constantly threatens the gap between the opposition full-back and centre-back, which could open up more space for the centre-forward to work with.

At Newcastle, Gordon often received the ball in advanced isolation situations where he could attack defenders one-versus-one. 

Barcelona could create similar scenarios through quick switches of play involving Pedri and Lamine Yamal.

It must be noted that Raphinha’s current role under Flick involves enormous defensive work off the ball combined with aggressive attacking runs into central spaces, and Gordon has the physical intensity to replicate many of those movements.

Flick’s teams depend heavily on coordinated high pressing, and Gordon’s work rate would immediately help Barcelona maintain defensive pressure from the front. 

He presses with aggression, tracks runners consistently and reacts quickly during defensive transitions.

Lastly, while in possession, Barcelona would continue using a fluid front three where the left winger attacks inside while the full-back provides width outside. 

Gordon’s directness would allow Alejandro Balde or Joao Cancelo to overlap more aggressively without leaving the flank completely exposed.

This system would probably resemble Barcelona’s current structure the most, simply with greater speed and more vertical attacking threat.

Gordon as the striker

The second tactical possibility is perhaps the most interesting.

Anthony Gordon can also operate as a number 9.

Although Gordon is not a traditional centre-forward, Newcastle used him centrally in several matches last season, and the results were surprisingly effective. 

Across 16 appearances as a striker, he managed nine goals and one assist, but the role itself matters more than the statistics.

Gordon does not function as a fixed penalty-box striker. Instead, he operates as a mobile forward constantly moving across the front line to destabilise defensive structures. 

To put it in perspective, this would be the closest tactical comparison to how Luis Enrique used Ousmane Dembele at Paris Saint-Germain.

Rather than relying on a classic number nine to hold central positions, the idea is to create constant movement across the attacking line. 

Gordon would drift wide, drop deeper or attack space behind defenders depending on the situation.

This system could become extremely dangerous alongside players like Raphinha, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal because Barcelona would gain far more mobility between lines.

One of the biggest benefits of this would come during pressing phases.

Traditional strikers sometimes struggle to maintain aggressive pressing intensity across ninety minutes. 

Gordon, however, thrives in those situations. He presses centre-backs aggressively, closes passing lanes quickly and forces defenders into rushed decisions.

The downside, however, is obvious, as Barcelona would lose a fixed reference point inside the penalty area. 

Against low blocks, there may be moments where the team lacks physical presence centrally, which is why Flick would need midfield runners constantly attacking the box to compensate.

An all-out attack

The third option is something Barcelona could use during difficult moments in matches when chasing goals.

Anthony Gordon can cause chaos with his speed.

In this structure, Gordon and Raphinha would both operate very high simultaneously in an aggressive attacking system designed to overwhelm defensive lines through constant movement and direct runs.

Gordon would begin centrally but would naturally drift into the left half-space repeatedly. 

This movement is important because it pulls centre-backs away from their original positions, creating gaps for runners arriving from deeper zones.

Meanwhile, Raphinha could attack the opposite channel aggressively while Lamine Yamal maintains width on the right.

The key here is to cause chaos. Rather than maintaining positional control, Barcelona would intentionally create fast transitional situations with multiple runners attacking space at the same time. 

Gordon’s acceleration becomes extremely valuable in this setup because he can immediately attack open channels once defensive structures break.

Furthermore, with Gordon and Raphinha both pressing aggressively from advanced positions, opposition defenders would have very little time to build comfortably from the back. 

At the same time, the risk, naturally, would be defensive balance.

Using Gordon, Raphinha and Yamal together in highly advanced roles would leave enormous responsibility on the midfield to control transitions after possession losses. 

Hence, Barcelona would need midfielders capable of covering those huge spaces defensively.