Thomas Tuchel is thrilled about Anthony Gordon’s move from Newcastle to Barcelona.
‘It is excellent,’ he said. ‘It is such a nice trip for me to watch matches. I can only encourage people to go to nice places! I can fly there and watch him in the Champions League!’
Before the amiable surrounds of Barcelona, though, Tuchel has to find a way of getting his winger up to speed in the sunnier, yet far more unforgiving environs of North America. That is less of a jokey subject.
Gordon had not played for 55 days before coming on at half-time during last Saturday’s 1-0 win over New Zealand in Tampa. That absence — part injury, part Eddie Howe’s decision not to pick an outgoing player — has clearly impacted the 25-year-old.
At one point, Tuchel came to the touchline to speak to Gordon after a forward burst left him gassed. There were later a couple of awkward dribbles that spoke more of rust than technique, and the gauge was close to empty come full-time.
Given such explosive contributions are central to Gordon’s game, he faces a race against time to get himself back in the fast lane.
Anthony Gordon is facing a race to get himself back up to speed ahead of the World Cup
Gordon admitted it was ‘tough’ against New Zealand having not played a game for 55 days
‘It was tough, I can’t lie to you,’ said Gordon. ‘Even when you have two days off, in football you feel like you have never played a game. It’s crazy. You lose your touch, you lose everything. It’s really hard to get back in the swing of things. So after like five, six weeks off, I did better than I thought.’
Gordon’s battle with Marcus Rashford to start on England’s left wing is one of several positions Tuchel is yet to decide on ahead of next Wednesday’s group-stage opener against Croatia.
Even though Rashford looked a lot further down the track when it came to fitness at the weekend, Tuchel was more pleased with Gordon’s positional discipline. Him sticking to the left gave Jude Bellingham space to have an influence in the No 10 role.
Compare that to the first half when Morgan Rogers was often crowded out by his team-mates in the same position. The dilemma for Tuchel is that Gordon needs minutes if he is to marry output with staying put, as per the manager’s want. For now, though, Rashford looks like the better option.
Tuchel calls it a ‘quirk’ that, at club level, Gordon has replaced Rashford at Barcelona, even if the latter still holds hope of returning to Camp Nou after a season on loan from Manchester United. The FA appeared keen to highlight the harmony between the pair when they published images of Gordon and Rashford chatting last week, amid inevitable questions over how Gordon’s move may affect their relationship.
‘He’s a lovely guy, very caring,’ said Gordon. ‘So he was just giving me a bit of information, telling me how good the lads are there, the team spirit they have. He was also telling me about the city, places to live.’
For the next six weeks, they will be living together. At least, that is the time frame that would take England to the World Cup final. There was a clue as to Tuchel’s thinking with the release of the squad numbers last week, with Rashford at No 11 and Gordon No 18. The manager later admitted he had over-ruled the original picks and changed ‘one or two’, though he did not reveal names.
‘I couldn’t care less,’ said Gordon, when pressed on squad numbers. ‘I think if you go through this team, you could put any player one to 11.
Thomas Tuchel called it a ‘quirk’ that Gordon has replaced Marcus Rashford at Barcelona
Gordon will battle Rashford for a starting berth with England and revealed his team-mate has offered him helpful advice following his move to Barcelona
‘I’m here to win for England. I don’t care about me individually. It’s not about me. It’s about the team. So give me whatever number you want to give me.’
At Euro 2024 in Germany, Gordon’s involvement was restricted to four minutes of one group game. It was a waste, given he had just been voted Newcastle’s player of the season.
England’s then manager Gareth Southgate felt Gordon was distracted by talks over a move to Liverpool and, it is said, he did not take kindly to him claiming in the media he could inject more urgency into the attack.
Gordon has perhaps learned his lesson with regards to the latter, given his collegiate words above, and the Barcelona move being sealed last month is a relief. The task now is purely football.
‘At the Euros I was going through the transfer stuff, it was really difficult, I couldn’t really shake it,’ said Gordon at the weekend.
What he has to shake this time is the mental and physical freeze of more than a month in cold storage — not to mention the challenge of Rashford for a starting jersey.
The competition for places is as hot as the Florida sun here, and Gordon has work to do before he comes to the boil.
Which England star has 7 GCSEs? Who has lost half of his finger? Test your knowledge of Thomas Tuchel’s squad with our exclusive quiz HERE
