{"id":45655,"date":"2026-06-25T05:53:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/45655\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T05:53:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T05:53:22","slug":"anthony-gordons-18-word-england-comment-raises-questions-about-70m-barcelona-transfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/45655\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Gordon’s 18-word England comment raises questions about \u00a370m Barcelona transfer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The former Newcastle United’s comment before England’s World Cup tie with Ghana will set tongues wagging on Tyneside\"Dejected<\/p>\n

Anthony Gordon’s poor performance against Ghana may be a sign of things to come with new club Barcelona(Image: AP Photo\/Dave Shopland)<\/p>\n

Anthony Gordon probably didn’t intend to set tongues wagging when he spoke to the BBC ahead of England’s tepid 0-0 stalemate with Ghana on Tuesday evening.<\/a> The former Newcastle United<\/a> winger was simply outlining why he and his colleagues are thriving under Thomas Tuchel<\/a>, championing England’s more direct, high-intensity approach that got fans on the edge of their seats in their World Cup opener against Croatia.<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet one particular comment will have left many a Newcastle supporter raising an eyebrow. “We want to play [an] athletic style of football. We want to play a Premier League style of football which I think suits me and my strengths,” Gordon<\/a> said on the television broadcast ahead of kick-off.<\/p>\n

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“So I need to show that, I need to show when I get the opportunity because we’ve got some players with a lot of quality who can really put me in good positions, so hopefully we see that today.” Which raises one rather straightforward question: if a Premier League style of football plays to your strengths, why have you just walked away from it?<\/p>\n

Naturally, there are numerous reasons why a \u00a370 million switch to Barcelona might prove impossible to turn down. <\/a>Gordon himself described joining the Catalan giants as a “dream”, while the appeal of Spanish sunshine and a reported doubling of his wages would be enough to tempt virtually any footballer.<\/p>\n

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But consider those 18 words once more: “We want to play a Premier League style of football which I think suits me and my strengths.” At St James’ Park, Gordon proved the ideal match for Eddie Howe’s high-intensity approach, consistently encouraged to press with aggression, exploit space whenever possible and utilise his explosive speed to unsettle opposition back lines.<\/p>\n

Newcastle’s set-up seemed custom-built for his attributes, and it’s therefore hardly surprising that Gordon’s finest performances have arrived under Howe’s guidance. Barcelona, in stark contrast, present an altogether different proposition.<\/p>\n

While they’ve developed under manager Hansi Flick, their approach remains considerably more possession-oriented and measured than the counter-attacking game Gordon has candidly acknowledged suits him most effectively.<\/p>\n

\"BARCELONA,<\/p>\n

Gordon’s move to Barcelona makes no sense if the Premier League suits his style of play better(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Anyone questioning how the England international might adjust to a more technical brand of football should look back at Tuesday’s goalless draw with Ghana. Gordon found it difficult to impose himself against Auxerre full-back Marvin Senaya,<\/a> seldom posed a threat in advanced areas and was ultimately withdrawn just past the hour mark as a furious Tuchel hunted for a winner.<\/p>\n

Naturally, Gordon could still flourish at Barcelona and silence every doubter. But when the winger himself concedes that a Premier League approach suits him best, it’s difficult not to question whether he’s just departed the ideal setting for him to excel.<\/p>\n

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.<\/p>\n

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The former Newcastle United’s comment before England’s World Cup tie with Ghana will set tongues wagging on Tyneside…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9573,92,3956,14447,10281,223,3358,8624,100,3545],"class_list":["post-45655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-barcelona","tag-anthony-gordon","tag-barcelona","tag-bbc","tag-eddie-howe","tag-england-football-team","tag-fc-barcelona","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-newcastle-united-fc","tag-premier-league","tag-thomas-tuchel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}