It’s safe to say that Anthony Gordon’s Newcastle United career hasn’t got off to the strongest of starts. Since joining the Toon, he has yet to play a full 90 minutes of senior team football – additionally, he also hasn’t scored a goal or registered an assist.

Following his altercation with Eddie Howe after being substituted off for Matt Ritchie in the game against Brentford, Gordon’s career seems to be heading on a worrying trajectory. He looks like a player who is low on both confidence and desire at the moment.

In 2022, Gordon was reportedly the subject of a £60 million bid from Chelsea – Everton would reject this, eventually flogging him to Newcastle for a reduced price of £45 million (including potential add-on fees).

At Everton, Gordon often looked unplayable – he combined his electrice pace with beautiful dribbling skills to dart past defenders. As a move away from Goodison Park looked inevitable, his performances declined – he has yet to recapture this form.

Nevertheless, to suggest he will never return to that level of play seems rash at this stage. It’s easy to forget he has recently suffered an ankle injury – given his lack of playing time, he could also be low on match fitness.

Ultimately, there are two options in this scenario. You could simply use Gordon as backup – given his price tag, however, this seems incredibly wasteful. Alternatively, you could give him a run of starts – it’s a major risk, when you take Newcastle’s top four into consideration, but it’s a risk that may need to be taken for the sake of the 22-year-old’s career.