Fresh details emerge from Anthony Gordon Liverpool deal that would have rocked Newcastle


Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has closed down suggestions that Anthony Gordon was ever close to joining Liverpool last summer.

As the deadline ticked down towards the dreaded PSR health check in the Premier League, with Euro 2024 in full flow and Gordon in Germany, a swap plus cash deal for Reds defender Jarell Quansah was heavily mooted. It's believed there was a discussion but Howe has now blasted talk parting with the Kirkdale-born winger was a goer.

With one star that was sold to prevent points being docked returning this weekend in Yankuba Minteh, a player Howe wanted to keep, the Newcastle head coach told Chronicle Live: "The only two deals we had on the table were for Elliot and Yankuba at that time. We had to make a decision based on finances.

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"We couldn't break profit and sustainability rules and get a points deduction. We didn't want to sell Yankuba or Elliot but we had to make a decision."

As Newcastle rushed through sales for Whitley Bay lad Anderson and promising winger Minteh, Howe spoke like a man who knew the true reality of just how close United, guided by lawyers, were to potentially facing a punishment.

When asked about the sale of returning Minteh, Howe said' "In my opinion, it was the right thing to do but it hurt to do it. No matter what the narrative in the future, it was still the right thing to do for the benefit of Newcastle."

The data Newcastle had stored up on Minteh from his time at Odense then Feyenoord on loan may now be used to try to stop him compounding the controversial sale. And Howe confirmed he would have probably been in his team this weekend had he not been sold.

Howe said: "If he was ours, we would have utilised his skill set and with the attributes he has, stand out qualities, pace, power and a lovely left foot. So we are well aware of his strengths."

With United sources saying that Gordon's contract is a "done deal" and Quansah also penning a long-term extension at Liverpool, the summer swap that would have rocked football may be one of the biggest deals that never happened.