PIF have signed an "explosive" talent who can end Gordon's Newcastle career

Newcastle United fans will be growing extremely restless with how poor their beloved side’s away form continues to be.

The inconsistent Magpies must wish they could play in front of their passionate St James’ Park masses every week, with another away day loss in the Champions League against Marseille meaning the Toon have lost their last four matches on the road.

In stark contrast, Eddie Howe’s men have won their last six matches in a row back on home soil.

Of course, home advantage is a common phrase uttered in football – hence the labelling of certain home grounds as fortresses – but this Jekyll and Hyde form will seriously be worrying Howe, with TNT Sports pundit Joe Cole saying “there’s too much of a gap” between the strugglers at their very best and their very worst, after the defeat in France.

Anthony Gordon is seriously letting his side down wherever they’re lining up at the moment, though, with a regret now possibly in the air that PIF didn’t cash in on the up-and-down performer when they could’ve.

Latest on Gordon's future at Newcastle

Indeed, during the summer of 2024, Liverpool were reportedly keen to tempt the England international to Anfield, with last summer also seeing them come back with more interest, as he was touted to have a bumper £100m price-tag above his head.

Gordon warranted all this fervent interest, too, with 37 goals and assists coming his way across two campaigns for Howe’s men.

His confidence was so sky-high that the Liverpool-born forward even labelled himself a “nightmare” for defenders to contain, amid interest also coming from top-flight rivals Arsenal.

Now, however, he has thudded back to reality, with zero goals or assists coming his way from seven Premier League games so far this season, with just 40% of his dribbles accurately completed, as per Sofascore, as he continues to look a worrying shadow of his former self.

Consequently, Liverpool have moved on to another batch of high-profile targets in attack in the form of Michael Olise and Antoine Semenyo, with writer Thomas Hammond stating that a forthcoming sale of Gordon would be “favourable”, just to get him off the books, concerning his ongoing no-shows.

While he has contributed massively to his own downfall, his Newcastle career could be in even more tatters by the emergence of this promising star on Tyneside, who PIF signed on a free transfer earlier this year.

The "explosive" star who can end Gordon's career

Howe could soon have to be bold with what he does in the St James’ Park hot seat, with the current state of affairs unfolding, leading him down the unwanted path of a dismissal.

For the tie at the Orange Velodrome, Howe did bravely decide to gift 16-year-old Sam Alabi a chance from the substitutes bench, with Antonio Cordero another promising star that might be in line for some first team chances soon, partcularly if Gordon continues to frustrate.

For the time being, the former Malaga winger is out on loan in Belgium with KVC Westerlo, but when he returns, he will have even more senior action under his belt, as he attempts to unsettle Gordon, with his standout time in the senior squad at Malaga, leading to one analyst page hailing him as an “explosive” talent.

Despite only being 19, Cordero – who has also been labelled as “exciting” by former Magpies sporting director Paul Mitchell – managed to tally up a weighty 60 appearances for the senior side, with goals and assists aplenty also coming his way.

LW

33

5 + 6

RW

16

2 + 3

AM

2

0

RM

1

0

Looking at the table above, Cordero would manage to tally up a blistering 11 goal contributions for his former employers down Gordon’s usual left-hand side from just 33 appearances.

The hope will be that Newcastle landing the teenage sensation for nothing proves to be a masterstroke in time, with Cordero further capable of also playing as a right winger, or as a number ten if needed.

The promising youngster has even been noted as being “like Gordon” by analyst Ben Mattinson, with Newcastle perhaps better served now to look to the future and put their energy into the Spaniard, than persisting with Gordon to come good.

In a few years, he might well be a household name on Tyneside, with the ex-Everton attacker off the Magpies roster, subsequently.

Alongside Pope: Howe must bin Newcastle hero who won 0 duels vs Marseille

Eddie Howe must now ditch this Newcastle United defender alongside a woeful Nick Pope.

ByKelan Sarson Nov 26, 2025

'I can feel the anxiety' – Ruben Amorim makes worrying admission about Man Utd star ahead of Crystal Palace clash

Ruben Amorim has singled-out one key star for criticism, claiming their performances for their country are better than the shifts they put in for Manchester United. The United boss has also claimed he can "feel the anxiety" every time his player receives the ball in a damaging analysis ahead of the clash with Crystal Palace.

  • Youngster's struggles since joining United

    Dorgu has faced some initial problems since becoming Amorim’s first signing at Man Utd, primarily due to being played as an attacking wing-back when he is a more natural full-back. Pundits and fans have described some of his performances as "dreadful," pointing out defensive lapses and poor decision-making in the final third. He has also yet to register a goal or assist for the club. 

    However, Dorgu is still only 21 years old and arrived mid-season from Lecce in Serie A, and was thrown into an unstable team under a new system. His struggles are often viewed as a result of being played out of position and mis-used by the current system rather than a lack of talent. But his boss has pointed out that Dorgu's instincts when playing for United are completely different to when he plays for his native Denmark. 

  • Advertisement

  • Getty Images Sport

    Amorim: 'He has time to improve'

    Ahead of the clash with Palace, Amorim said: "You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touches the ball. I can feel the anxiety. When I see Patrick playing for the national team, he scored a great goal against Scotland and the decision that he made under pressure was completely different than the decision he's making in our team. I think it's the decision, he needs to be calmer playing the game."

    He added: "I remember the shot against Everton. That was easier than the decision he had to make when a guy from Scotland was there. I saw it when he played in Italy. But again, here is different and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning. He has time to improve. I just need to understand the context in trying to help them (Dorgu and Dalot). They are far from their best, and they know it. Like a lot of players in our team, like myself. I just look at them, and think they have so much more to give. So let’s see this week if we can improve that." 

  • Away day woes for Amorim

    Manchester United have won just three of their last 26 Premier League away games against London sides and just one game away from home this season. And the United boss has acknowledged that his side’s form away from home is a problem he needs fix quickly. Amorim said:  "I felt during this year that when we played at home, the intensity was higher. And I felt in this game at home (against Everton) the intensity was not at the same level. So I think it's something that we need to work on. It's hard to point one thing why we are not winning away. There's a lot of issues. We are improving but we need to know how to finish the games in order to win."

  • ENJOYED THIS STORY?

    Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

  • AFP

    Palace test awaits United

    Palace are unbeaten in their last four meetings with the United, winning three, and have only lost one home game all season. United, winless in their last three Premier League matches and struggling away from home and are also hampered by injuries to key attackers Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, along with defender Harry Maguire.

    Ahead of the match Amorim has conceded his team needs to defend better. The Portuguese said: “We are being really soft near the box. So we need to improve that in the last games, especially against Nottingham (Forest, the 2-2 draw). We allowed a lot of crosses, we didn’t press well [in] moments. Against Everton, they were with 10 men and we suffered the goal (Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s winner) with the only shot on target."

Uncapped allrounder Devonshire earns New Zealand ODI World Cup squad spot

Allrounder Flora Devonshire, who is uncapped at ODI level, has been included in New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming women’s ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.Polly Inglis, Bella James and Bree Illing, who have just eight ODIs between them, have also been included for their first World Cup campaigns.Devonshire, a 22-year-old left-arm spinner, made her T20I debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year and was part of the New Zealand A tour of England in June and July. Her inclusion in the 15-player squad meant that fellow left-arm spinner Fran Jonas, who has 26 ODIs to her name, was a notable omission.Related

  • Sri Lanka select Prabodhani, Dulani for Women's World Cup

  • Devine to retire from ODIs after the World Cup

  • Bree Illing and Bella James earn maiden New Zealand contracts

  • New Zealand Women begin World Cup prep with Chennai camp

“It’s never easy when you have multiple players pushing for the same spot and that of course made for some tough selection calls,” head coach Ben Sawyer said. “Having to leave out the likes of Fran in favour of Flora was a tough decision. We know Fran is a quality player and at 21 we believe she still has her best years in front of her.”Left-arm seamer Illing took four wickets in her first ODI series against Sri Lanka, while James made her ODI debut against Australia late last year. Inglis, who hit an unbeaten 34 off 21 balls in her second outing against Sri Lanka in March, will also provide wicketkeeping back-up to first-choice Izzy Gaze.”I’d like to especially acknowledge the four players set for their first World Cup – they’ve all earned this opportunity and I’m excited to see what impact they can have on the tournament,” Sawyer said. “I’m really pleased with the balance of the squad. I think we’ve got the right mix to tackle what we’ll come up against in terms of conditions and opposition.””Bree puts batters under pressure early with her swing and has great ability with the new ball. Her and Flora have both shown they can consistently bring the stumps into play, which will be effective in the conditions we’re going to face.”Flora’s got an attacking mind and skillset with the bat, which is valuable down the order. Bella’s a versatile batter who can hit 360 degrees around the ground and can bat in most places in the line up.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Polly gives us another option with the gloves within the squad, and she possesses great grit and determination, which are qualities that will be important in trying conditions.”The experienced core of the squad includes captain Sophie Devine, who will retire from ODI cricket after the World Cup, Suzie Bates, Lea Tahuhu, Maddy Green and Amelia Kerr.”I can honestly say that in the four world events I’ve been part of with this group, we are the best prepared we’ve ever been,” Sawyer said. “Having no international cricket in our calendar since April has given us the ability to work really hard on our physical skills in particular, which is something that could be the difference in India.”The squad leaves for the UAE on September 13 for a pre-tournament camp, which includes two warm-up matches against England, before heading to India. Their opening World Cup match is against Australia on October 1 in Indore.

New Zealand for Women’s ODI World Cup

Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Eden Carson, Flora Devonshire, Izzy Gaze, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Bree Illing, Polly Inglis, Bella James, Jess Kerr, Amelia Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Georgia Plimmer, Lea Tahuhu

Game
Register
Service
Bonus