Anthony Gordon does not believe he has changed. He is still the same player, the same guy – on a journey, striving for self-improvement, a thinker, immensely driven. What is changing is the way an increasing number of people see him, certainly in the UK, and for that it is impossible to overlook the Barcelona factor.
Gordon signed for the La Liga club from Newcastle at the end of May in a £69.3m deal, and the early evidence suggests the move has taken his game somewhere new. His summer with England had already been a positive one, even if it began slowly. He barely saw the ball in the opening World Cup group game against Croatia, was poor against Ghana and was dropped for the Panama match. From the bench against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 32, with England 1-0 down, he changed the game, setting up Harry Kane’s goals in a 2-1 win, and he was excellent in the last-16 tie against Mexico at the Azteca. In the semi-final against Argentina he gave England a 1-0 lead, the dream moment that turned into a nightmare when he was withdrawn as Thomas Tuchel switched to a back five; England were reeled in and beaten 2-1. It is why he calls the tournament the “best experience” of his life.
The reunion with the England support at the start of the Nations League campaign has been an eye-opener. Gordon was England’s best player in the 2-0 win against 10-man Czechia in Prague on Tuesday and he was impressive in the 3-2 defeat by Spain at Wembley on Saturday. Kane’s verdict after the Czechia match was that his teammate had been the “difference-maker”.
Gordon has always traded on his pace, his hard running and his pressing. But there was a revealing exchange with the media at St George’s Park last Wednesday when he spoke about how closely he is associated with Eddie Howe’s high-tempo, back-and-forth style at Newcastle. His point was that this was all people saw in him. At Barcelona, who control the ball more, he has had to show greater game awareness, sophistication and subtlety – finding the right spaces and grooving the connections. Those qualities, he says, have always been in him; they have simply become more visible.
“I pride myself on having a high football IQ and making the right decisions,” he said. “So I think going to a team like Barcelona has really suited me and it’s maybe highlighted strengths that people didn’t know I had – or maybe overlooked because I’m fast and I press. That’s kind of the only things people ever speak about. I’ve got a lot more to my game.”
The numbers back up a fine start to life in Spain: five assists in seven appearances, albeit without a goal. He can also now say that he forms one third of a front line alongside Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. What stood out most in the Spain and Czechia matches was how he imposed himself while England struggled – for the first 35 minutes against Spain and for pretty much the whole of the first half against Czechia. It was the personality he showed, the desire to be a leader. Against Spain it was Gordon and Jude Bellingham who threw the counterpunches during that difficult opening, Gordon equalising for 1-1 from a Bellingham assist. Against Czechia he probed and created, got shots away and headed England into the lead at the start of the second half, finishing with a game-high four chances and the most touches in the opposition penalty area.
Tuchel has been clear about the shift in status. “Anthony could have done even better at the World Cup,” the England manager said. “I am not so sure of the quarter-final against Norway and how Gordon played in that. But it was difficult, every match was difficult. And now he arrives full of confidence. He wanted to prove a point that it is his shirt on the left-hand side and that is exactly what he does, what we want and he gets the praise for it. At the same time the expectations rise, of course they do.”
Kane sees the Barcelona move as central to the improvement. “The move to Barcelona has helped him,” he said. “Going to a big club like that gives you more self-belief, more confidence. You feel like you belong on the biggest stage and he’s taken that into his England performances. He was outstanding against Spain and he was the difference-maker against the Czechs.” The pattern is worth noting: for an English player, moving away from England, especially to a European heavyweight, means stepping outside the comfort zone – new language, new culture, new style of football, new pressures. It can be too much. It can also push a player to fresh heights, as it plainly has for Kane at Bayern Munich and Bellingham at Real Madrid, and the early signs for Gordon are very good.
The turning point at the World Cup, Gordon has said, came against the DRC. Having barely been involved against Croatia and struggled against Ghana, he was left out against Panama. When he got on, he simply wanted to express himself, with no safe stuff. “I just thought: ‘I’m not doing that. I’m going to do the things that got me here,’” he said. It is a worthy maxim, if an easier one to state than to follow. Gordon is doing it.