Everton to drop asking price for Anthony Gordon amid Newcastle interest

Everton are expected to drop their asking price for Anthony Gordon after the forward missed training for a third day.

Newcastle United have been confident of signing Gordon after holding talks with Everton over the England Under-21 international this week.

Everton had been hoping to agree a deal worth up to £60million for Gordon, however, which threatened to force Newcastle to walk away and pursue other targets.

Gordon has made it clear that he wants to leave Everton in this transfer window and has now missed the last three days of training since the defeat to West Ham United that resulted in Frank Lampard being sacked.

That has weakened Everton’s position and it is now believed the club will be forced to consider an offer worth just over £40m including add-ons, which may be closer to Newcastle’s valuation.

Everton need to sell Gordon to free up funds for the club’s next manager to spend over the final days of the transfer window, although it is unlikely the club will be able to reinvest all of the cash generated because of Financial Fair Play issues.

It remains to be seen whether or not Everton dropping their asking price will encourage Chelsea to make a last-gasp bid for Gordon.

Chelsea have shown renewed interest in the player they bid for last summer, but are yet to make an offer in this window and have been prioritising trying to sign a back-up right-back and a midfielder before the end of the month.

Everton are believed to have already lined up a bid to try to sign striker Marko Arnautovic from Italian club Bologna if they can raise enough cash. Asked about the possibility of losing the 33-year-old, Bologna manager Thiago Motta said: “As for the market, I don't know anything about Everton's interest in Arnautovic, you should ask Marko.”