£75m star wants to join Liverpool

Liverpool were heckled last time out at Anfield, and maybe FSG are now starting to grasp the scale of the problem that has befallen Arne Slot’s side.

For much of this troubled campaign, the dissent has stemmed from online circles. That does not invalidate it, but now that the unrest has spilled into the stadium, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes to maintain their faith in the under-fire head coach and entrust him with the keys this summer (and next season).

However, Slot still believes that he is the man for the job, and after winning the Premier League title so spectacularly last term, who can blame him?

In any case, Liverpool need changes after such a tough term, and while Mohamed Salah’s imminent departure calls for an elite right-sided forward, the Reds could also do with a Cody Gakpo upgrade.

Premier League winger wants to join Liverpool

Yan Diomande and Bradley Barcola have been named as top targets for Liverpool ahead of the summer transfer window, but whether FSG have the means or the will to sign both after last year’s £450m spending spree is another matter.

However, the need for forwards is significant, exacerbated by Hugo Ekitike’s ruptured Achilles, as well as the ongoing issues of Alexander Isak.

Well, according to TEAMtalk, Liverpool are also interested in signing Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon, despite all the noise coming from Bayern Munich’s camp.

Gordon, who has been valued at £75m by the Magpies, is one of the Premier League’s top wingers, and Arsenal are also interested.

There are a number of variables at play: Bayern’s interest is the most intense, but they are only willing to open discussions at £50m; Arsenal are also strong contenders, but the Three Lions winger would allegedly choose Liverpool above all other suitors, favouring a return to Merseyside as he supported the Reds as a youngster.

If the Anfield side were to get this one over the line, they would not only secure an upgrade on Gakpo, but perhaps their finest left winger since the days of Sadio Mane.

Why Gordon could be Liverpool’s new Mane

Gordon, 25, has been among Newcastle’s biggest threats since joining from Everton for £45m in January 2023, and there’s a sense that he has levels still to scale.

Perhaps by moving to Liverpool, he would reach that new standard, with the pace and innate potency in the danger area to emerge as Anfield’s best left-sided forward since Mane wreaked havoc in Klopp’s system.

Across 46 appearances this season, Gordon has scored 17 goals, certainly ebbing and flowing, but proving his elite potential over the past few weeks.

Gordon has the focus to hit greater consistency on the major stage. He is among the fastest and most threatening wingers in Europe, someone who could mimic Mane’s brilliance on Merseyside.

Mane scored 120 goals for Liverpool, and it’s not contentious to argue his case as one of the division’s greatest wingers of all time. So fast. So furious. Salah took home more match balls, but there was something rarified about the Senegalese’s electric presence down the flank, not gliding but snapping past opponents, wrong-footing them, outwitting them.

Content creator Pete Davey said that Gordon put in “one of the best striker performances I’ve seen from a Newcastle United player in a long while” following the 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in March, and there’s no question that he is capable of shifting between the gears, varying his skillset in a manner that Mane did so well under Klopp’s wing.

While some might consider Luis Diaz to be hitting higher beats than the Englishman right now, it would be wise to consider Bayern’s vested interest and what that could mean for Diaz’s longevity in Vincent Kompany’s attack. Has Gordon been identified as the 29-year-old Colombian’s successor?

We mere mortals can only sit back and watch as the FSG powers that be determine their best course of action this summer. Will Slot stay, or will he go?

If the Dutchman is to remain at the helm, he would fare much better with someone of Gordon’s ilk challenging Gakpo and the bright Rio Ngumoha down that left wing.