It is rare Anthony Gordon is speechless yet even Newcastle United's new signing looked lost for words in the directors' box at St James' Park after the Magpies reached their first League Cup final in 47 years. The roar that greeted the final whistle on Tuesday night was so deafening that you suspect even Rafa Benitez might have heard it as he watched the 2-1 win against Southampton from his home in the Wirral.
Benitez was understandably keen to congratulate his former club and pay tribute to Eddie Howe for 'doing a great job' in leading a team he is 'really enjoying watching'. Benitez may just like this side even more when Gordon is up and running after the pair previously worked together at Everton.
"He has something," the ex-Newcastle and Everton boss told ChronicleLive. "These players that have so much potential, not too many of them achieve what they want because the environment is not right or the mentality is not right. But, in this case, the spirit that we had with Anthony was so positive. He was very keen to learn. He was listening to us. He was doing extra work. Everything was positive."
