Eddie Howe admits he spoke at length with Anthony Gordon before his return to Everton - with the player insisting he was ready to to face the hostile Goodison Park crowd just three months after his ugly exit.
Gordon left his boyhood club under a cloud back in January, refusing to train as he pushed through a move to Newcastle in the final days of the winter window. The 22-year-old was chased out of the stadium when driving home from the 2-1 defeat to Southampton as angry supporters hurled abuse towards him.
As expected, Gordon received a hostile reception on his Merseyside return this week, being booed before, during and after the 4-1 win for Newcastle. Howe admits he spoke at length with the player before the Premier League game and is now confident the £40m man can put all his focus into impressing at his new club.
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“I’m guessing it was difficult for him," Howe said after the game. "I had a chat with him at length yesterday and he was confident he’d be able to handle the environment after speaking to him.
“I think it was a good time to bring him on, to almost get it out of the way for him really, it’s played, it’s done. At that stage the game was pretty much over but I think mentally it was a really good thing for him to deal with mentally and hopefully he’ll move on now and focus on his career for us.”
Gordon started from the bench for Newcastle but was soon sent to warm up in front of the baying mob sat in the Goodison home sections. The Finch Farm graduate ignored the jeers and went over to the travelling Newcastle support, who began to sing his name.
Gordon was brought off the bench in the closing stages, again to a chorus of boos, as he played the final minutes of the Newcastle win. Video footage in the Everton tunnel shows Gordon celebrating the victory at full-time, pumping his fists with a big smile across his face.
The £40m move hasn't worked out as of yet but Gordon already has the backing of the Newcastle support. There may be more opportunities to impress between now and the end of the season with Allan Saint-Maximin struggling to shake off a hamstring problem.
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