- Fee Newcastle received for Gordon deemed justified by Barcelona
- Why €80m is normal in today’s market
- How good will Gordon be at Barcelona?
The football world was left reeling in bewilderment at the €80m transfer fee paid by Barcelona for Anthony Gordon. But the only thing Barcelona and Newcastle United fans were shocked about was Gordon’s fluency in Spanish.
The reasoning behind the disbelief at the fee is, in many ways, understandable. But the Blaugrana have been very vocal about their feeling that the fee paid for Gordon was actually more than justified in the modern market.
Whilst a lot of the Geordie faithful couldn’t be happier with the sum received and feel it may be a slight overpayment, the sentiment that Gordon’s fee is justified is one that is unanimous in Catalunya and on Tyneside.
Barca buy Gordon for present and potential
Whilst Gordon is 25 years old, Barcelona haven’t purely bought him for his ability at present. In fact, they have bought the England international for what he can bring down the line, too.
A lot of the question marks have arisen due to the presence of Raphinha, who also plays off the left flank. But the Brazilian turns 30 this year, meaning he is around five years Gordon’s senior.
Gordon is the type of player who can be the deciding factor in a game when he wants to be. So, even if he is playing second fiddle to Raphinha next season, he has the ability to contribute heavily to Barca’s quest across multiple competitions.
Extend that game-winning ability beyond merely next season, and, once Gordon is settled in and used to the added quality he will have around him, you could well be looking at a player who can explode in his output on the world’s stage.
Gordon’s initial price tag
Newcastle United bought Gordon from Everton back in January of the 2022/23 season. At that time, the Magpies paid £40m plus £5m in add-ons to secure his services.
Three years of consistent performances (often at the highest level) later, and £30m more than the initial fee isn’t exactly blasphemous.
For a moment, let’s compare Gordon’s price after three seasons at a top level to some of the other winger transfers in recent times.
Jeremy Doku, with a highest single-season G/A tally of 11, cost Manchester City €60m from Rennes.
Mohammed Kudus, who had just come off the back of a nine G/A season, cost Tottenham Hotspur €63.8m.
Compare both of those to Gordon, who has just come off the back of a widely considered poor season with a tally of 22 G/A, including 10 Champions League goals, and the price tag becomes much more reasonable.
Newcastle lose a top player
Perhaps the most pressing reason that Gordon’s fee is justified is quite simply because that is what he’s worth to Newcastle United.
Newcastle know the consequences of selling one of their top assets, having lost Alexander Isak last summer, but the one thing that can negate that impact is getting the right fee.
It is much harder to purchase players for a big sum than it is to buy them for a small one, so the €70m price tag is more imperative than it is a desire.
Gordon has all of the potential to be a ceiling-raiser wherever he goes, but at the very least, he raises the floor. Barcelona have sometimes struggled when rotating their starting lineup this season, so Gordon will be a welcome sight to fans.
Those things alone make the payment not only appear justified but also perhaps the best-case scenario for both clubs.
Ultimately, no matter how big the question marks may be about the fee, the only real way for Gordon to shut them all up and show what Newcastle fans already know is to perform on the pitch.
