Anthony Gordon says he remains ‘focussed’ on enjoying a successful end to the season with Newcastle, dismissing rumours over his future as ‘a load of rubbish’.
The 24-year-old winger has already achieved his best-ever season in front of goal for the Magpies this term, netting 14 times in all competitions.
He has also chipped in with a total of five assists in those 36 games, with Eddie Howe’s side battling it out on three fronts in the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League approaching the business end of the season.
Four goals of Gordon’s impressive tally came on Wednesday evening as the Toon put one foot in the Champions League last 16 with a rampant 6-1 victory over play-off rivals Qarabag.
The England international will no doubt be looking to pick up where he left off when Newcastle return to Premier League action away to title-chasing Manchester City on Saturday.
But while Gordon has been firing on all cylinders on the pitch, there has been incessant speculation off it that this season may well be his last at St James’ Park.
Liverpool have been credited with a strong interest in Gordon for some time and recent reports have linked both Arsenal and Manchester City with the forward ahead of the summer transfer window.
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However, when pressed on these rumours in the immediate aftermath of Newcastle’s big first-leg win over Qarabag, Gordon told Chronicle Live: ‘About me? I haven’t seen them. What are they saying?’
When informed that Liverpool and Arsenal were supposedly exploring moves, Gordon replied: ‘It’s the same old, same old. I think they just pick names out of a hat. They do.
‘I haven’t heard anything; they might want to tell me before they tell you [the media].’
Gordon is keen to avoid any outside distractions which could affect his performances over the coming weeks and months, especially with an England World Cup campaign on the horizon.
Asked if he was focused on becoming a Newcastle legend, the ex-Everton man replied: ‘Of course. I have gone through enough transfer stuff now to know that it is all a load of rubbish.
‘I am focused on me and focused on the team, I am focused on right now.
‘You look too far in the future and you start to underperform. And believe me, I have done that and I am not going to do that now.’
Despite coming away from Qarabag with both the match ball and the man-of-the-match award, Gordon said he was ‘not fully happy’ with his display and should have scored more than four.
‘Yeah, I should have scored more – I should have had six goals. I missed two chances that I should score,’ he explained.
‘I don’t want to call them easy but they were chances that I should score. I am always looking for more.
‘I scored four but I am that type of person, I am not fully happy with what I have achieved, it should have been six, maybe next time.’
On the seemingly simple task that awaits Newcastle in the second leg at St James’ Park, Gordon continued: ‘A tie is never dead – even at 6-1. We have all watched football enough, anything can happen.
‘They are a great team, they have a lot of quality, I actually think we just defended really well. We didn’t give them many opportunities.
‘But we have our mentality and we look forward to the next leg.’
In response to the reported interest surrounding Gordon from the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal, Newcastle are said to have slapped a £95million price tag on the attacker.
Gordon’s current contract in the north east, which he signed in October 2024, is believed to run through to 2029.
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