Eddie Howe wasn't being polite with his opening words to Anthony Gordon as he walked into the coach's room at Benton for the first time this week.
Howe told him he'd been "an admirer" of the 21-year-old forward for a "long time" and Newcastle's scouting mission on the £45million man stretches back to his early teenage years, thanks to the Toon head coach's backroom team with much of the research done before his appointment on Tyneside.
After confirming the deal this week Howe said: "Anthony can have a big impact on our season. "He is quick, dynamic and versatile, can play on both sides - the best is yet to come from him. He can add something different from us and I am delighted to get him."
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Howe does not feel he is the finished article by any stretch of the imagination but insists he "knows the player" and went on: "He has the nice balance between confidence and knowing there are areas to improve in his game. I have no doubts on his character.
"We have done a lot of research on every signing. There's a risk with every signing because you never quite know with a dynamic how much of a risk that will be. We have tracked him for a long, long time, from the early days at Everton. And his loan spell that he had. We know the player and I'm really pleased we've signed him."
It was last summer when Gordon came close to being a Tottenham Hotspur player when Antonio Conte sanctioned a huge £60million offer for the Scouser. But Everton batted that away at the time with Bill Kenwright keen not to rattle their fanbase.
For Gordon had been used by Everton as the poster boy last year and his face was emblazoned across the Toffees' club shop as recently as the summer to sell shirts as the club's next bright thing. Kenwright at that time feared his sale would have a massive impact on supporter morale yet he couldn't have foreseen the nosedive that would follow for Frank Lampard.
During that time though Newcastle were keeping a close eye on the situation but long before that Chronicle Live can reveal that Newcastle's head of domestic scouting Andy Howe, who left Bournemouth in early 2022, had been keeping tabs on the Everton youth product.
Indeed, when Gordon ended up at Preston North End on loan in 2021, Bournemouth were also in the running and while Eddie Howe had left the South Coast club by then he already had him on his radar as a young player. A source close to Bournemouth said: "Eddie and Andy have liked Anthony for a long time. He could have easily ended up at Bournemouth."
Newcastle were in discussions for Gordon last summer and at the time last summer sporting director Dan Ashworth was also eager to tie down the then Everton terrace favourite with club chiefs on Merseyside stating the England youth international was "not for sale". Regardless of Gordon's status in the last 12 months, the forward has always been open to the idea of working with Howe.
For United, he has always been on their wanted list and while it is true that Newcastle were keen on James Maddison, Leicester's steep valuation of £60million means that the moment Gordon's price tag became clear earlier this month, the England forward slipped slightly down the pecking order.
It means that Gordon now has the chance to really stake his claim in the second half of the season. His debut against West Ham is the start of his career at St James' Park but the end of a long mission for Howe to be able to work with the star.
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