Anthony Gordon makes Everton admission after completing Newcastle United move

Anthony Gordon has reflected on ‘a really tough week’ after his relationship with Everton became strained ahead of his £45m move to Newcastle United.

The England Under-21 winger became the Magpies first signing of the January transfer window when he put the finishing touches to the move on Sunday afternoon. The Toffees released their own statement in the aftermath of the deal being confirmed and they revealed Gordon had submitted a transfer request in a bid to force through a move to St James Park.

It read: “Anthony Gordon has joined Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee. The 21-year-old forward leaves Everton after having submitted a formal transfer request.

“Gordon joined the club’s academy at the age of 11 and made his senior debut as a 16-year-old in a Europa League tie in December 2017. He went on to make 78 first-team appearances, scoring seven goals.”

The short statement was seen by some as a slight on Gordon after he endured a difficult final fortnight to his time with his boyhood club. The winger received criticism from some supporters following a home defeat against Southampton and further angered Everton fans when he failed to turn up for training earlier this week as negotiations over his move to Tyneside intensified.

However, the Magpies new boy has stated he ‘didn’t mean to disrespect anyone at Everton’ and expressed his wish that they invest the fee they received for him in a bid to preserve their Premier League status.

He told NUFCTV: “It was a really difficult decision and it’s been a really tough week for me. I’ve been at Everton for my whole footballing career so far, so it’s been difficult, but this is an opportunity that I couldn’t really miss out on. I didn’t mean to disrespect or offend anyone at Everton, and I’m hoping they know that and hopefully they can reinvest the money now and stay in the Premier League.

“I never imagined it or wanted it to go like that, that’s why it’s been such a tough week for me. But I just couldn’t miss out on this opportunity and they got a lot of money for me, so I’m hoping they can reinvest it into the squad.”

Gordon will be ineligible for Newcastle’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Southampton on Tuesday night but could make his Magpies debut in Saturday night’s Premier League home clash with West Ham United.