Fabrizio Romano has reported that Anthony Gordon was ‘over the moon’ at the prospect of joining Liverpool this summer.
Unfortunately, the Merseysiders couldn’t proceed to official talks owing to barriers over pricing and an unwillingness to engage in a swap deal.
“What I’m told is the deal was never really close between Liverpool and Newcastle. They had a conversation. They had an exchange about the possibility, but the price tag was way too high for Liverpool to make things happen,” the CaughtOffside columnist told The Daily Briefing.
“A swap deal was also really complicated as Liverpool didn’t want to lose some of their best players. So, it was an idea, it was a conversation but it was never something really close.
“The player was over the moon – the player was keen on joining Liverpool. But at the end between the two clubs, like Alexander Isak with Chelsea, it was never something really concrete.”
The Magpies were allegedly prepared to contemplate life without the England international if the Reds were happy to part ways with talented Academy graduate Jarell Quansah.
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Liverpool, unsurprisingly, had no intention of entertaining any such talk over the future of the 21-year-old centre-back.
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Gordon has very much made his mind clear when it comes to his future in football.
As both Romano and the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards can attest to, the winger’s mind seems to be partly in Merseyside.
It’s unlikely he’ll stir up trouble at his current club to try and force through a transfer, though it does raise questions for Newcastle’s hierarchy over their next move.
That said, it’s worth highlighting amongst all of this that the Magpies are no longer obligated to sell players to meet their PSR requirements.
It’s a significant reduction in pressure that could very well see Gordon remain put in the North East.
He wouldn’t take a great deal of convincing either, we’d imagine, given his popularity in the area and the fact he’s enjoying his best football under Eddie Howe.
Yet, the prospect of a switch to Liverpool looms…
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