The international break is finally over. Just one month until the next one. Still, Newcastle United made progress in the weeks before the October pause, and Eddie Howe’s side have a somewhat favourable run of Premier League fixtures ahead of them.
Convincing wins in the Champions League and top flight the other week have put the Magpies in good stead for the harsh winter months to come. It was winter last season when Newcastle found their groove and mounted a winning run of form and set the paving which led to European qualification and triumph in the Carabao Cup.
And with leaders like Anthony Gordon beginning to play themselves into form, there’s a sense that the St. James’ Park side might rediscover a similar vein of form and use it to knock on the door of the favourites in the Premier League.
Tyneside felt the curtain closing on an era when Alexander Isak was sold to Liverpool for £125m this summer, but, as always, United have adapted and overcome their adversity.
And Gordon has the talent and experience to lead them to even loftier heights, with his recent performances for the Three Lions showcasing his quality.
Gordon's England performances
Gordon has been in fine fettle for Thomas Tuchel’s England over the past week, and it’s becoming clear the German tactician fancies the 24-year-old as his first-choice option on the left wing.
On Tuesday evening, in Latvia, Gordon scored a curling strike after good footwork to open the scoring, consolidating his position.
Gordon’s pace and energy and enterprise down the left wing allow Harry Kane to operate at full capacity in the middle. For Nick Woltemade at Newcastle, who has been described as “similar” to the England captain by Gordon himself, this is promising as he continues to bed into life in the Premier League.
It’s been a testing start to the season for Gordon, who was shoehorned in as a makeshift centre-forward during the early weeks and got himself sent off against Liverpool.
He’s yet to break his seasonal duck in the Premier League but boasts three strikes from two matches on the continent.
Minutes played
90′
71′
Goals
0
1
Assists
0
0
Touches
51
56
Shots (on target)
3 (1)
4 (1)
Accurate passes
30/34 (88%)
31/35 (89%)
Chances created
1
2
Crosses
0/3
1/8
Dribbles
2/3
1/1
Recoveries
2
1
Tackles
1/1
0/0
Ground duels won
4/7
2/5
And now, he has been rekindled for his nation. If the one-time Everton prospect carries that form back over to the domestic scene, there’s every chance he will go from strength to strength and lead Newcastle forward.
His is a desirable profile, after all, and one Newcastle looked to place at the front of their pre-PIF project (if the Mike Ashley era can be so kindly defined as a project). But that Gordon-esque profile fell by the wayside in England’s north east, even though he’s since built a solid career for himself.
Newcastle flop is now playing like Gordon
Gordon wasn’t the only Newcastle man, past or present, to have scored in Europe during the October international break. Woltemade scored his first goal in a Germany shirt as his side defeated Northern Ireland on Monday evening.
However, a former Magpie also found his way onto the scoresheet for Didier Deschamps’ France, scoring as the imperious outfit defeated Azerbaijan 3-0 in their World Cup qualifier on Friday.
The man in question is Florian Thauvin, who, aged 32, was recalled for Les Bleus selection for the first time since 2019 after an impressive start to the campaign in France with RC Lens, and he took his opportunity clinically.
Thauvin arrived in Newcastle with a weight of expectation in 2015, welcoming the 22-year-old from Marseille for a £13m fee after prolific returns in his homeland.
The 2015/16 season we’re sorry to dredge up, as this was the year Steve McClaren oversaw a plummet into the second tier. Thauvin was always up against it in such hostile conditions, and he featured only 13 times in the Premier League, neither scoring nor assisting, before heading back to Marseille on loan in January and again the following summer.
He’s been something of a journeyman, with career ups and downs, but at the autumn age of 32, the winger was named the Ligue 1 Player of the Month for September, having scored a goal and created ten chances across three matches that month, as per Sofascore.
Age is just a number in football, and Thauvin is proving he’s still got it. Data from FBref even reveals he ranks among the top 4% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions and the top 3% for both progressive passes and progressive carries per 90.
Winning over four duels per match in the French top flight this term too, Thauvin embodies the completeness of style that Gordon produces for Newcastle. In fact, FBref’s data reveals that Gordon is one of the Lens star’s most tactically comparable players, both fleet-footed and combative besides.
Given that Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior is also listed as a player of a similar style to the Frenchman, there’s little question that Newcastle were on the money when bringing him over the Channel. In another world, had Thauvin’s arrival aligned with the early days of the Howe era, he might have achieved much more.
While Newcastle would hardly consider a return for the veteran forward, it’s pleasing to see that they have finally struck gold on such a profile through the performances of Gordon, who, even having performed below his best of late, remains one of the most talented and respected wingers in the Premier League.
Newcastle star who's becoming a "fan favourite" could be Howe's new Joelinton
Newcastle have recruited wisely since Eddie Howe arrived four years ago.
ByAngus Sinclair
