The sight of Anthony Gordon's jeep screeching into Finch Farm even took broadcasters camped outside Everton's training ground by surprise on Friday morning. Following his unexplained absence on Wednesday and Thursday, the Newcastle United target was back to work.
The timing of Gordon's return appeared significant - just as Everton prepare to announce Sean Dyche as the club's new manager. However, Gordon remains keen on joining Newcastle in the final days of the window and, short of handing in a formal transfer request, the 21-year-old has pushed for the move.
This certainly makes a change for Newcastle after the shoe was on the other foot in the Ashley era. It is nearly a decade ago now since Yohan Cabaye downed tools after the Magpies refused to consider an offer from Arsenal while Sebastien Bassong previously told ChronicleLive that he did not train before his move to Spurs in 2009 because 'I had to force my way out'.
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However, some Newcastle supporters have aired their concerns about Gordon's no-shows and those training ground absences that even came as a shock to Everton staff. Is this the sort of signing Newcastle want?
Yet it is hard to imagine those working at the club being too perturbed after Gordon's absence put pressure on Everton at a time when the Toffees were steadfast in their inflated valuation of the youngster. Whether Everton blink in the final days of the window remains to be seen but, certainly, there remains growing optimism that the clubs can reach a compromise.
Less than two weeks after Gordon's car was barricaded, and he was told by an Everton fan he was 'not fit to wear the shirt', the forward appears to have taken those words quite literally. While it is not becoming, this is not the first messy transfer saga involving these two clubs.
It is worth noting that Gary Speed once refused to travel to Upton Park for Everton's game against West Ham in a bid to force a move to Newcastle in 1998. The Welshman was the epitome of a professional and that, in part, was why he was so keen to leave his boyhood club because there was a 'cloud hanging over the dressing room' that supporters did not know about, namely legendary manager Howard Kendall's battle with a drinking problem, which was revealed in 'Unspoken'.
Also, Newcastle have done their homework on Gordon's character and, tellingly, the Magpies have gone back in for the Everton forward after first showing an interest last summer. That Newcastle revisited the move should not come as a huge surprise. The club have a small pool of targets who tick all the boxes - physically, mentally and technically - and that is why bids for Sven Botman and Hugo Ekitike were resurrected last summer after Newcastle previously failed to land the pair in the mid-season window.
It goes without saying that Eddie Howe would not countenance going back in for Gordon if there were any red flags and no stone will have been left unturned when it comes to carrying out that due diligence. As well as researching targets, himself, and discreetly speaking to those who have worked with them, Howe has previously enlisted the help of recruitment consultants over the years.
Howe wants to know every little detail about a potential new arrival, whether it is his living situation, family set-up, interests outside the game or motivations, to build a character profile to go with the data and scouting reports the club already have. You can be sure Howe will already know, for example, that Gordon is a player who feels the pain of a defeat for days even if he plays well, which is just the sort of figure the Newcastle boss would want to work with.
That mentality is all the more important when Howe is desperate not to disrupt the spirit in a tight-knit dressing room. Although new arrivals do not necessarily have to be squeaky clean, they must buy into the work ethic and togetherness at heart of the club's transformation in the last 12 months.
Newcastle are clearly confident Gordon will do just that - if the move comes off.
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