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."
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Although Gordon only spent six-and-a-half months with Benitez and his staff, it proved a crucial period in the forward's career. Having previously tired in the Florida heat after just 50 minutes in a pre-season friendly against Millonarios, Gordon worked with assistant 'Paco' to improve his stamina so he could play at a high intensity for a longer period. Gordon also spent time with Benitez and first-team coach Antonio Gomez Perez after training, and the pair repeatedly spoke to the academy graduate about the importance of 'mentality, effort and commitment'.
You see those qualities whenever Gordon takes to the field now. Take the last time Gordon played at St James' for Everton back in October. When Kieran Trippier let Gordon know exactly what he thought of his attempts to win a penalty, the youngster squared up to the senior England international. When Fabian Schar rushed over to repeatedly shove Gordon, the attacker stood his ground.
Newcastle players joked about the incident on Gordon's first day at the training ground last week and the new arrival told Schar he hoped he would protect him now before the defender deadpanned: 'You have to deserve it first'. So how was the reunion?
"He's a good lad," Schar told ChronicleLive. "Everyone who comes in will add something different. He's young and has a lot of potential and a lot of quality. He's going to help us. There are no problems or anything. These things happen on the pitch."
Howe has predicted that supporters will love how Gordon is 'aggressive in standing his position' now that the Scouser is on their side and the new arrival had his name sung by the Gallowgate without even kicking a ball on Tuesday night when he was presented to the crowd. No wonder Gordon has already found Geordies to be 'so welcoming'.
That was immediately apparent on Gordon's first night in the North East last week. Struggling to get a taxi from the MetroCentre, Gordon was ultimately 'rescued' by the Duffy family, who kindly offered to take Newcastle signing and partner Annie back to their city centre hotel. It was the last thing son Lewis expected when he finished his shift and was picked up by his parents, Vanessa and Simon.
"My mam and dad rang me and they said Anthony Gordon was in the car," he told ChronicleLive. "I was like, 'What?!'
"My mam speaks to anyone so she just went up to him and he asked, 'How do you get a taxi around here?' He was struggling to get a taxi so my mam offered him a lift back to the hotel. I was absolutely astonished that any footballer up here would get into a random person's car, but it just signifies how good the Geordies are. It's Geordie hospitality at its finest.
"I asked him if this ever happened at Everton and he said, 'No'. It really just shows you that we're football mad."
Gordon will already know that, all right. After feeling the wrath of Newcastle supporters just a few months ago while playing for Everton, the forward is relieved they are now behind him.
You get the feeling that Gordon will relish playing in front of those fans every week and this is a scrapper who has had to fight ever since he was released by Liverpool as a kid. In fact, there were no guarantees that Gordon was even going to be picked up after Everton initially decided against signing him following a brief stint at the club's development centre.
However, scout Ian Duke felt moved to ask Martin Waldron, the club's head of academy recruitment, to take another look after watching Gordon run riot for Whiston Juniors aged 11.
"Ian phoned me," Waldron told ChronicleLive. "He said, 'Martin, trust me, he's filling out a little bit, he's getting there. We just have to be patient with him.'
"When my senior staff ever called me, the ones I really trusted, I trusted so I brought Anthony in. I saw what Ian saw, gave him the three months, got him in the main group and signed him.
"You could see from day one he had ability. He just needed someone who believed in him and gave him time to develop. No one can coach ability. You've got to be born with it and he was, but he was slight. You have to be patient with boys like that and eventually they get to where they want to - and he has."
These are the fine margins and Gordon's rise has been anything but plane sailing - even in recent years. Take Gordon's loan spell at Preston back in 2021 when Howe was tracking the youngster.
Gordon, ultimately, did not play as much as he would have liked at Deepdale following manager Alex Neil's departure and a subsequent change in formation. However, it proved an invaluable experience.
It reminded Gordon nothing was given and the spell helped the Scouser mature off the pitch as he sampled life away from Everton for the first time. Far from encountering a player who sulked about a lack of game time, former Preston boss Frankie McAvoy found Gordon to be a 'smashing kid that wanted to learn'.
"We had no issues with Anthony whatsoever," McAvoy told ChronicleLive. "He was a very likeable boy on the training field. Even on matchdays, when he was not involved or on the bench, he was absolutely fine.
"He wants to win, which is a good trait to have, and sometimes when you've got that hunger and desire to win, you can be misconstrued. When we speak about players nowadays, sometimes we talk about a lot of them lacking some leadership qualities and maybe being a bit too quiet and not speaking up.
"Anthony says what he thinks. Sometimes, he might say the wrong thing at the wrong time, but that does not make him a bad person. He was very humble. He showed a bit of humility when he came in."
That stint at Preston put the fire in Gordon's belly. Gordon set out to win a place in Everton's first-team squad rather than going out on loan again - and that is exactly what he did.
Gordon went on to become a valued player under Benitez and successor Frank Lampard, attracting firm interest from Newcastle, and Howe understandably believes the 'best is yet to come' from the 21-year-old following his £40m move to St James'. Ian Duke, the aforementioned Everton scout who spotted Gordon all those years ago, certainly agrees.
"Anthony has got bags of potential and he's a lot more to fill out in his body," he told ChronicleLive. "He's played at a very difficult team at a young age. Yes, the crowd liked Anthony but the club has been under a lot of pressure.
"With a great crowd, a great manager, a better technical team, he will go to the top. There's loads more to come from him."
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