Craig Burley says Newcastle United’s new January signing Anthony Gordon reminds him of Chelsea’s very own big-money capture, Mykhailo Mudryk, as he told ESPN.
The England U21 international has signed from Everton for a fee in the region of £40 million (Goal), less than half what Todd Boehly paid for Mudryk when they snipped the Ukraine winger from under the noses of Arsenal.
Whilst there was drama involved in Mudryk’s January deal, there has also been a fair bit of reaction to the Gordon transfer and how it all came about.
The Everton academy product only has three goals this season, he has been in dreadful form and has been a key reason behind his club’s struggles.
Given that surrounded the player, it wasn’t helped by the fact that he missed a number of days of training leading up to his Newcastle move.
Former Scotland and Chelsea star Burley shared that he couldn’t defend Gordon in that regard, as he made his Mudryk comparison.
“I don’t think any of us agree with how he seems to have gone about it,” said Burley. “However, he was one of the players that had to be frogmarched out with his car, with fans blocking the roads.
“That’s not to condone not turning up to training. It’s fresh in a young man’s mind. Lots of people get bad advice. Sometimes, you have to make a decision for yourself.
“Let’s look at it from a Newcastle perspective. You have Almiron, Joelinton, and Allan Saint-Maximin, who hasn’t played so much. Almiron has just lost a little bit of form, just a little bit. He’s not playing badly, but he hasn’t come back from the World Cup in the sparkling form he was before it.
“They haven’t gone for the big superstars. They have gone for players that will fit in, work hard and fit in with what they are building. He reminds me of like Mudryk at Chelsea. He is sometimes a little raw and I think Anthony Gordon is still a little raw. Very fast and very direct.”
MUDRYK AND GORDON
As soon as the duo enter their respective buildings, one of the main aims is to push for Champions League football.
Newcastle are in a more commanding position because of their form this season, whilst tenth-placed Chelsea seriously have their work cut out.
But that’s why Murdryk has been brought in, to change that tide and push Graham Potter’s men up the table.
What’s crazy for Gordon is that he has gone from a team that could possibly end up in the Championship to a side that is looking to win its first trophy in decades and return to the Champions League.
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