Newcastle United are looking to bring Everton's Anthony Gordon to St. James' Park before the end of the January transfer window.
It's been a fantastic start to the season for Newcastle, with Eddie Howe's side sitting third in the Premier League table whilst also having one foot in the Carabao Cup final. The Magpies currently boast the best defensive record in the Premier League, but they are the sixth-highest scorers, with Howe looking to add more depth to his front line this month.
Gordon has emerged as a potential target for Newcastle, with the winger having told his people he's open to a move to Tyneside. The 21-year-old was a key player for the Toffees at the start of the season, but a drop in form has seen the Englishman score just once since the end of August.
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So, if Gordon was to make the move to Newcastle this month, could the winger help guarantee the Magpies a Champions League spot, and potentially a trophy? Let's take a look.
We 'signed' Anthony Gordon for Newcastle
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2023 editor to arrange for the Englishman to join Newcastle this month. We also updated Newcastle with the latest squad, and the Premier League with the latest results.
Gordon was utilised from the go by Howe, with the winger used on both the left and right wing throughout his first few months at the club. The 21-year-old's game time was limited towards the end of the season as his form dropped, ending the season with 14 appearances as a Newcastle player.
Across the season with Newcastle and Everton, the winger made 38 appearances in total, scoring four goals and grabbing one assist in that time. With the Magpies, Gordon scored just two goals, and the forward averaged a rating of just 6.71 per game.
When you compare the Englishman's stats to the rest of the Newcastle squad, Gordon's average rating was the joint lowest of all the Magpies attackers. Youngster Elliot Anderson also managed two goals and the same rating as Gordon, whilst Alexander Isak registered the highest (7.28).
The Swedish striker scored 11 goals, one less than the club's top scorer Miguel Almiron who ended the season with 12. Joelinton impressed with eight goals and five assists, whilst Callum Wilson scored seven goals, despite only making seven starts due to injury in the simulation.
At the end of the 2022/23 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best Newcastle XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what Newcastle's best XI looked like at the end of the 2022/23 season as predicted by Football Manager 2022:
Full Newcastle best XI (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Botman, Burn, Targett; Guimaraes, Willock, Joelinton; Almiron, Isak, Saint-Maximin.
It was no surprise that Gordon didn't make the Newcastle best XI from the 2022/23 season, with the winger failing to outperform any of the current Magpies first team. Allan Saint-Maximin notched just one goal in the simulation, but the Frenchman also grabbed eight assists and averaged a 7.13 rating to start in the front three alongside Wilson and Almiron.
Newcastle's results with Anthony Gordon
Despite the forward not adding much to the squad, it didn't massively impact the Magpies' season, with Newcastle still finishing third in the Premier League. Howe's side ended the season on 73 points, one more than Manchester United in fourth and seven more than Liverpool in fifth to claim a spot in the Champions League for the following season.
Arsenal won the title with 86 points, beating City to top spot by seven points and only losing one game all season. Newcastle ended the season with 52 goals scored, the fifth-highest in the league, despite Gordon only adding two goals.
In the simulation, Newcastle reached the Carabao Cup final after a 3-0 aggregate win in the semi-finals, and they faced Nottingham Forest who beat Manchester United 1-0 in the two legs. Joelinton and Dan Burn both got on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory that saw Howe's side lift the trophy.
Overall, FM23 predicts that Gordon may not make an instant impact for the Magpies, with the winger struggling for consistency in the simulation and failing to make a major contribution to Howe's side. But, when you see how long it took for Almiron to adjust to life in Newcastle, the 21-year-old may just need time to find his feet.
Would you like to see Newcastle sign Anthony Gordon? Let us know in the comments!
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