Eddie Howe is delighted with the start Anthony Gordon has made at Newcastle United this season.
Gordon has grabbed two goals and two assists in the opening six Premier League matches so far this season while also being named man of the match in Newcastle’s 8-0 win at Sheffield United on Sunday.
“He’s had an outstanding start to the season,” Howe said. “What has pleased me most is his fitness levels and athleticism is really coming to the fore but he’s adding goals, end product, and assists which is great to see.
“All attacking players will be judged by that.”
The 22-year-old joined Newcastle for £45million from Everton in January – a record fee paid by the club for an Englishman – but he struggled to make an impact during his first half-season at St James’ Park. Gordon was limited to just four starts and didn’t complete a single 90 minutes with doubts over his fitness levels.
The player himself has since admitted to not being fit enough for the demands of playing in Howe’s Newcastle side when he first arrived.
“If you’re not fit enough, you can’t do certain things and that’s how I felt last year,” Gordon said earlier this month. “When I played some games last year, I didn’t feel fit enough to do the running off the ball and then contribute on the ball.
“In some games I’d do a lot of work off the ball, but then when we had the ball I couldn’t contribute. But when you’re fit, fitness breeds confidence.”
And a full pre-season after winning the European Championships with England Under-21s over the summer seems to have benefitted the winger massively.
The sale of Allan Saint-Maximin to Al Ahli over the summer and injury to Joe Willock gave Gordon the chance to make the left-wing position his own as Joelinton dropped back into midfield.
Gordon swapped to the No. 10 shirt vacated by Saint-Maximin and brought his positive pre-season form into the competitive campaign.
The only time he hasn’t started a league match for The Magpies this season arguably saw him put in his best performance as he came off the bench to grab a goal and an assist against Sheffield United.
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