Newcastle ‘retain strong interest’ in Hakim Ziyech but are prioritizing Anthony Gordon — report

Chelsea almost spent a rather silly amount on Everton youngster Anthony Gordon in the summer — even by our rather silly amounts of spending standards — but the 21-year-old ended up staying despite our best attempts.

Safe to say that neither his nor our season have gone the way we would’ve expected at that point, though our troubles are nothing compared to the dumpster fire that’s been Everton’s year. Frank Lampard has been sacked, their owners are under increasing pressure to sell, and the Toffees look destined for relegation for just the third time in their entire history, and the first since 1951.

Should they go down, the likes of Gordon, Jordan Pickford, Amadou Onana, and many others are likely to generate plenty of transfer market interest, though some may be convinced to jump ship already. Gordon is among those, with Newcastle United driving hard for his signature. In fact, according to the Telegraph, Newcastle are “confident” that they will acquire the young forward “before the weekend”.

The rest of the report doesn’t quite back up that confidence, with the Magpies “hoping” to finalize a deal closer to their £35m budget than Everton’s £60m asking price. That’s quite a difference!

In fact, should they fail to reach a compromise, they are expected to go after Hakim Ziyech instead, who “could even join on loan, with Newcastle holding an option”.

Could he now? Not sure I’d be too keen on the Wiz staying in the league.