Why Didn’t Liverpool’s Move for Anthony Gordon Work Out?

There is a sub-section of Liverpool fans that are constantly desperate for transfers to take place. To some of those, the Reds making a signing is more important than the club winning trophies.

There is a desire for some that Liverpool ‘win the transfer window’ by bringing in new players, even if that might end up destabilising the players that are already at the club.

They thought they were going to get their wish in the summer when news broke that the Reds were interested in bringing former Everton player Anthony Gordon back to Merseyside, but in the end the talks broke down.

The question is, why didn’t the move work out?

Newcastle Wanted too Much

At the start of the summer transfer window ahead of the 2023-2024 season, Newcastle United were facing issues around the Profit & Sustainability Rules put in place by the Premier League. Having been bought by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which was effectively the Saudi state itself, the Magpies had moved to splash the cash where they could.

Unlike Manchester City, who are facing a Premier League investigation into 130 charges around financial irregularities, Newcastle were unable to simply arrange dodgy sponsorship deal with the nation state that owns them in order to cover up any financial shortfall.

Villa have hit the jackpot with Duran. Sort of signings that help swerve PSR. Can make an arguement that Newcastle overpaid for a few players in 2022 & 2023 which hurt them a bit in their 2024 window

— SJ (@316simsim) October 7, 2024

Newcastle needed to raise some cash in order to satisfy their PSR requirements, with a £75 million move to Liverpool reportedly there to help ease the burden. The move might well have gone ahead, but for the Magpies’ desire to take Joe Gomez to St James’ Park.

Although the two deals were separate from one another, they were also intrinsically linked and the Reds were unwilling to let Gomez leave for the reported fee of £45 million that the Magpies were looking to pay for him. The club also felt that £75 million was too much for Gordon, who only had two years left on his contract at the time that negotiations were ongoing.

Liverpool’s Forward Options Aren’t Lacking

As last season was drawing to a close for Liverpool, Luis Diaz’s father was practically wearing a Barcelona shirt and performing flamenco dancing in his desire to suggest that his son wanted to play for the Catalan club. That set alarm bells ringing for the Reds, who began to brace themselves for a bit for Diaz’s services from the Spanish giants.

Had that big arrived and Diaz left for the Nou Camp, Liverpool would’ve found themselves needing another player to line up on the left of the attack, given the fact that Cody Gakpo’s performances had been lukewarm at times, meaning that he wasn’t fancied to carry the can himself.

@rxeynds what a bargain😮‍💨 #federicochiesa #liverpoolfc #lfc #fyp #footballtiktok ♬ 90210 (feat. Kacy Hill) – Travis Scott

Given the fact that Gordon grew up as a Liverpool supporter and knows Merseyside well from his time at Everton, he was seen by many as an ideal replacement for the Colombian. It is also the case that the idea of signing Gordon was funny for fans of the Reds, given the ‘needle’ towards Evertonians that would come as a result.

Ultimately, though, the club decided that they didn’t need Gordon but could do with some reinforcements on the right, which is what led to the signing of Federico Chiesa from Juventus for £10 million plus £2.5 million in add-ons. Whilst Gordon might still come in the future, he wasn’t needed this summer.

The Deal Isn’t Dead

Although Gordon didn’t get his move to Anfield this summer, there is little doubt that the potential for a deal remains alive. It has long been the case under the ownership of Fenway Sports Group that any interest that the Reds have in a player remains the case until he either signs for the club or he moves somewhere permanently.

In the case of Gordon, Liverpool were evidently happy enough to let things lie for the moment with a view to go back in for him at some point in the future. With just 18-months left on his contract, Richard Hughes will presumably think that he’ll be able to get him for cheaper than £75 million.

It is also the case that Gordon’s agent was pushing the move much more than Liverpool were. The Reds were apparently ‘lukewarm‘ in their interest, which is likely to get hotter the more that time passes and Gordon’s price drops accordingly. The player himself is still young, so it won’t be seen as a bad thing at Liverpool’s end that he’s gaining his experience on someone else’s dime.

There was no urgency from the Anfield club’s point of view to get the deal done, yet it won’t be a surprise if he does end up back on Merseyside at some point. Even if he has to let his contract run down to move on a fee, it isn’t an outrageous suggestion that it might happen.