Anthony Gordon has five days off — not that it looks that way. The air-conditioning cannot stem the sweat and the whirring of the treadmill does not drown out the thoughts turning in his head.
It is June 2023 and the Newcastle winger is on a short holiday in Dubai. Hours earlier, he scored his first goal for the club against Chelsea, sweeping home on the season’s final day in a 1-1 draw.
The next week, he is due to link up with England’s under-21 team at the European Championship in Georgia. Five days — his first break since January’s £45million ($57.3m) transfer from Everton — seems scant respite before a 50-game season.
Since he was a child in Everton’s academy, Gordon has written down short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. “I’m going to help England win the Euros, I want the No 10 or No 11 shirt at Newcastle, I’m going to score this number of goals, I want a senior England call-up.”
Halfway through the season in January 2024, the 22-year-old was on track to hit almost all of those targets. Check out Jacob Whitehead’s piece here.
GO FURTHER
Inside the mind of Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon: Treadmill mentality, books and boxing
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