Fabrizio Romano has shared his latest information regarding Liverpool’s pursuit of Anthony Gordon.
The Reds turned down a proposal from Newcastle to sign the 23-year-old in exchange for Jarell Quansah, although there were reports that LFC could instead include Caoimhin Kelleher in a cash-plus-player deal.
However, judging by an update in the Italian’s Daily Briefing this morning, the latter also looks unlikely to materialise ahead of tonight’s PSR accounting deadline.
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Romano wrote: “Newcastle started having some conversations regarding Anthony Gordon, but the only way for him to leave for Liverpool is for the asking price to drop in a considerable way.
“Liverpool really like the player, but they are not going to pay what Newcastle are currently demanding for Gordon, so the feeling is that this story is unlikely for the next 24 hours, for the Financial Fair Play deadline for English clubs.
“The only way is for a crazy proposal from Liverpool and at the moment they are not considering paying that money, so it’s really complicated. It was an opportunity discussed due to Newcastle’s financial situation, but that’s it – it was never close or advanced as there was big gap on valuation.
“It’s also important to say that Newcastle have now sold Yankuba Minteh and Elliott Anderson so the story is over for now, Liverpool keep appreciating Gordon but not moving forward as of now.”
TEAMtalk quoted a price of £50m plus Kelleher as the package that Liverpool could offer to try and land Gordon, but with Newcastle set to bank almost £70m from selling Minteh and Anderson, their need to sell the England winger as a matter of urgency has diminished.
What’s also clear from Romano’s update is that Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes won’t be bullied into paying what they consider to be over the odds for the 23-year-old, no matter how brilliantly he might have performed last season as he was named the Magpies’ Player of the Year.
It duly seems that LFC’s chances of pouncing on the PSR difficulties which had been lingering around St James’ Park appear to be on the backburner, and that in order for the pursuit of the ex-Everton winger to be revived, the two clubs involved would need to compromise on their respective valuations of the player.
In all probability, Gordon won’t be returning to Merseyside in the near future, but another impressive campaign with Newcastle could see Liverpool maintain their interest in him and try their luck with an offer over the next few months.
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