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."
