Eddie Howe said Anthony Gordon may have played his final Newcastle game as Bayern Munich try to sign the winger and Newcastle prepare to host West Ham on Sunday evening. Gordon is likely to start on the bench after missing two games with a minor hip injury.
The 23-year-old last played for Newcastle in mid-April. Since then, he has been an unused substitute in a home win against Brighton and a draw at Nottingham Forest, and Howe said the team has handled his absence well.
“Anthony’s just come back from injury,” Howe said. “The team has played well in his absence and it [leaving him on the bench was] was with a partial view to the future, yes.”
Bayern Munich are negotiating to sign Gordon, but they are reluctant to meet Newcastle’s £75m valuation and are trying to force the price down by about £10m. Personal terms are not thought to be a problem, leaving the transfer fee as the main obstacle.
Howe made clear that any choice on Gordon would be driven by the team’s needs rather than the wider noise around the player’s future. “When you get to this stage of the season, part of what we will be doing is looking to next year, naturally,” he said. “There are discussions that potentially might be happening but not with me.”
The Newcastle manager added: “We are going into a summer where there are a lot of unknowns and there will be a lot of change for us.” Seven or eight players are expected to leave before next season, with the exits of Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth already confirmed.
That churn could stretch into the back line as well. Howe said Fabian Schär could be staying after all, despite the defender’s contract ending next month, and Newcastle appear ready to discuss a one-year extension with him.
“Fabian still has a lot to offer on the pitch,” Howe said. “We will have discussions with him and his representatives in the next week.” He also added: “It’s not necessarily about farewell for Fabian.”
For Gordon, the next decision is immediate: whether he is needed against West Ham or held back as Newcastle weigh a summer of change that could reshape the squad around him. Howe said he would pick him if that was the right thing to do, but the club’s direction may already be moving beyond this weekend.
