Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has moved quickly to shut down speculation linking Anthony Gordon with a summer switch to Arsenal, insisting his focus, and the player’s remains firmly on the present.
Reports have claimed that Mikel Arteta’s side could target Gordon in the upcoming transfer window, with figures around £75 million being mentioned.
However, speaking ahead of Newcastle’s Premier League clash with Everton on Saturday, Howe was keen to bat away the noise.
“Only if you read it [distracting for Gordon],” Howe said.
“As always in this age, there is always rumour and speculation.
“I don’t see 90 per cent of it. It comes with the territory of being a top player and you have to put it out of your brain to focus on football.
“There is no time for distractions.”
As the conversation shifted, Howe was also asked how the club avoids another prolonged transfer saga like the one that surrounded Alexander Isak before his move to Liverpool last summer.
The Newcastle boss was clear that the timing of the rumours makes them irrelevant.
“There is not a lot I can do about that. It’s news to me but we’re midseason and in the middle of some of the biggest games of his career.
“He has no time to look left or right and has to be fully focussed on ahead.
“He has been in a good place.”
Gordon himself has already acknowledged earlier this month that transfer talk can become a mental challenge if allowed to linger, stressing the importance of staying locked in on current objectives.
“I am focused on me and focused on the team, I am focused on right now,” he said.
“You look too far in the future and you start to underperform. And believe me, I have done that (before) and I am not going to do that now.”
For Newcastle, the message is simple: with crucial fixtures ahead, the focus is on performances, not paper talk.
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