Newcastle United’s Champions League chase is back on track.
On Sunday, the Magpies beat Nottingham Forest 4-3 in a thoroughly entertaining clash at St James’ Park, with all of the home side’s goals coming during an 11-minute first-half spree; Lewis Miley and Jacob Murphy on target, before Alexander Isak struck twice.
Despite having lost three of their previous four Premier League games beforehand, Eddie Howe’s team have moved back up to fifth, thereby occupying the final Champions League spot, ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup Final dress rehearsal, facing champions-elect Liverpool at Anfield.
The Toon Army certainly have a strong side to get behind, but just imagine how good they would be if they had not been forced to sell one of their most prized assets. Spoiler; he might have even more potential than Anthony Gordon.
Anthony Gordon’s amazing rise at Newcastle
When Gordon joined Newcastle from Everton in January 2023 for a reported £45m, becoming, at the time, the club’s second-most expensive signing of all-time, many were questioning the price tag.
Tim Sherwood, who won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, believed Gordon was “overpriced”, although he’s since admitted he was wrong, proved so by the winger’s form.
Chris Waugh of the Athletic describes the 24-year-old as ‘durable, pacy, direct, hard-working, versatile and has end-product’ adding ‘most wingers have some of those traits, but [Gordon] possess them all’, while Ben McAleer of the Guardian believes he has ‘set the Premier League alight’ since making the move to Tyneside.
This form has also earned Gordon international recognition,
He was player of the tournament as England won the U21 Euros in the summer of 2023, before making his senior international debut against Brazil last March, opening his account for the Three Lions during November’s 5-0 hammering of the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.
Alongside, Gordon believes Newcastle striker Isak to be “the best in Europe” and together they form quite the partnership, so just imagine how formidable the Magpies’ front line would be, had they been able to keep a top-class right-winger.
Newcastle’s worst transfer regret.
Newcastle are being made to regret selling Yankuba Minteh, despite the fact that he never played for the club.
In June 2023, the Gambian joined Newcastle from Danish Superligaen side Odense Boldklub for a reported sum of £6.5 million, and he was promptly loaned out to Feyenoord, with the intention of integrating him into the first squad the following year.
Minteh scored 11 goals in 37 appearances for the Eredivisie giants, averaging one every 181 minutes. He was most memorably on target in the Champions League at Celtic Park, before scoring twice in a legendary 6-0 thrashing of Ajax in De Klassieker.
So, despite the plans being for Minteh to return to Newcastle, he never did, sold to Brighton last June for a reported price tag of £33m, with the Magpies forced to sell both he, as well as Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest, in order to avoid a PSR breach.
Well, it appears as though the Seagulls snapped up a bargain, with the Athletic’s Ryan Adsett describing the 20-year-old as a “world-class talent”, while Matt Furniss of Opta’s the Analyst believes Brighton supporters are rightfully excited.
Speaking on Sky Sports in August, Jamie Carragher asserted that Newcastle “are going to rue” the sale of Minteh, a claim that is certainly coming to fruition.
By bagging a brace against Chelsea on Valentine’s night, Minteh took his tally to five Premier League goals this season, on top of his four assists, so let’s assess how he compares to Gordon.
While Gordon’s surface-level statistics, goals and assists, are superior to Minteh’s, the Gambian’s per-90 numbers are more impressive. He’s averaging a higher take-on success and more goal-creating actions per 90.
Meanwhile, the Brighton winger boasts a higher shot on target percentage too. This suggests that, two years four years Gordon’s junior, his ceiling may well be bigger. Just take a look at the company he’s now in…
Of players who have attempted 70+ dribbles this season, only eight have a higher take-on success percentage than Minteh, namely Amad, Mikkel Damsgaard, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Jadon Sancho, Mohamed Salah, Antoine Semenyo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jérémy Doku.
So, what a pair of wide-attackers Minteh and Gordon would’ve been with Isak in the middle; no wonder Howe believes the Profit and Sustainability Rules are “not right”.
