Offers rejected and medical lined up: How the Gordon/Liverpool transfer saga has unfolded so far
Anthony Gordon’s name has arguably been the most dominant throughout Liverpool’s summer transfer window so far, with the Reds making no secret of their desire to sign the Newcastle winger.
Although the Magpies understandably value the 23-year-old quite highly, there had actually been a willingness on their part to potentially faciliate a return to Merseyside for the ex-Everton forward, and today it came to light that the clubs agreed on a package which would’ve seen Joe Gomez going in the opposite direction.
In their report detailing that failed proposal, the Daily Mail laid out the chain of events which led to that mooted exchange deal almost coming to fruition:
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- In early June, Newcastle had approached Liverpool to ask if they had any interest in a move for Gordon or Alexander Isak, with the Magpies needing to offload players in order to comply with PSR regulations.
- With that duo valued at £100m each, the Reds declined to take either of them.
- Newcastle then asked if LFC would be amenable to including Jarell Quansah as part of the deal, with that idea rejected out of hand by Anfield chiefs.
- The Tyneside club proposed a reduced price tag of £80m for Gordon, but that was still too high to tempt the Reds.
- St James’ Park chief executive Darren Eales returned with the aforementioned proposal of the England winger moving to Liverpool for £75m, with Gomez coming the other way for £45m.
- At that point, Anfield chiefs had begun negotiating, and a medical was even planned to take place in Leipzig, with both players in Germany as part of the Three Lions squad for Euro 2024, and both seemingly open to the proposed switch.
- However, when Newcastle eased their PSR worries shortly before the 30 June cutoff by selling Yankuba Minteh to Brighton and Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest, they pulled the plug on the mooted Gordon-Gomez deal.
The saga leaves both Gordon and Gomez with somewhat uncertain futures at their respective clubs going into the final month of the summer transfer window.
While both remain prized assets for Newcastle and Liverpool respectively, it became clear from June’s chain of events that those in the boardrooms of St James’ Park and Anfield would consider parting with their players if a satisfactory deal can be struck.
It could leave Richard Hughes with a battle on his hands to keep the defender in L4, especially if Eddie Howe had (as reported) been open to offering him regular game-time in his preferred right centre-back position.
Conversely, it might give LFC chiefs renewed hope of landing Gordon, although the Magpies are once more in a position to demand top dollar for the 23-year-old now that they’ve eased their worries over conforming with PSR.
Even after everything that’s gone on already, we suspect we haven’t heard the last of the transfer saga involving the two England internationals this summer…
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