Newcastle United sign Anthony Gordon – this is why Eddie Howe wanted him

The last time Anthony Gordon was on Tyneside he almost got into a fight with Newcastle United centre-back Fabian Schär, squared up nose to nose with captain Kieran Trippier and was jeered throughout by hostile home fans.

It will make his introduction at the training ground this week a slightly awkward one after the player signed a long-term deal with Newcastle on Sunday, but footballers tend to move on swiftly from on-field scraps and there will probably be some relief the irritant is now on their side. They already knew what a difficult player he is to face.

While some Newcastle supporters will need some time to adjust to the sight of Gordon in black and white stripes, having taken exception to his behaviour at Everton, they will not be in the least bit upset if he gets under the skin of opposition teams in the future. They will like his attitude, not reprimand him for it.

Manager Eddie Howe has always liked what he saw. The fact Gordon was not liked by opposition teams just made him all the more appealing.

In fact, Howe had approved of Gordon for some time. Newcastle’s manager had been watching, with ever increasing interest as the 21-year-old emerged as one of the key players in Everton’s successful fight against relegation last season.

Rather than a brash, reckless youngster who was winding up his Newcastle players and the crowd, Howe saw a ball of energy that would fit in perfectly to the type of team he is trying to build.

As his players bickered and argued with Gordon, Howe was attracted to the “devil in him,” focused on the raw ingredients and cooked up a recipe in his head.

Gordon is quick and direct, with the stamina to go with it. He will run all day, pressing from the front and dropping back to help out in midfield.

But he also has the willingness to run in behind opposition defences and take on a defender. He can also play across the front three, which would add cover and competition in an area of the pitch that Newcastle needed to strengthen.

Technically Gordon is already good but Howe saw how much room for improvement there was. With the right guidance, he believed Gordon would go on to become a top Premier League player over the course of the next decade.

He is a raw talent, but precisely the sort of young player loves to work with. The potential upside to the deal was huge.

Having signed a large number of players last year who were either in the late 20s or early 30s, Howe and director of football Dan Ashworth knew they had to bring the average age of the squad down. They needed to sign players who were ready to make an immediate impact, but who had the obvious potential to improve. Gordon ticked both boxes.

According to sources close to the deal, Howe pushed harder than anyone to make Gordon the club’s top transfer target after he had been informed that an offer from Nottingham Forest for Chris Wood was too good to turn down.

Having had a bid turned down by Everton back in the summer, Gordon was already on Newcastle’s list and, given it had already been agreed at the start of the month, that they would only look to sign existing targets in this window, he became the priority.

Telegraph Sport revealed that Gordon was back on Newcastle’s radar last week and also brought the first reports that a deal would be done soon after. Everton had initially asked for as much as £60 million, which dropped to £50 million and eventually to the £40 million Newcastle agreed on Friday.

Throughout it all, Newcastle were adamant they would not overpay, well aware of Gordon’s desperation to leave and his desire to sign for them. In the game of poker that best describes all transfer negotiations so late in the window, Newcastle knew how strong their hand was and how weak Everton’s had become.

There have been claims and counter claims regarding the size of the fee and the structure of the payments. It was initially reported that Newcastle had paid £45 million up front for the player, although in reality the fee is only £40 million. Everton insist they are receiving the entire fee up front, in one cash payment. Newcastle have not done that sort of deal since the takeover by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, preferring staggered payments with performance related clauses. It would be a surprise if they have changed tact in this negotiation but perhaps this is the price they had to pay to get it done.

Ultimately, Howe will not worry about the structure of the deal. All he will care about is that he has landed one of his long term transfer targets. He has wanted Gordon for months and now he has him. It will be fascinating to see if he can turn the raw ingredients he loves so much into something Newcastle fans can adore.

Newcastle have also agreed a fee of around £3 million for young right back Harrison Ashby, who is likely to start in the development squad on Tyneside