‘Brilliant player’ can tick two transfer boxes for Liverpool as Michael Owen reacts to renewed talk of Reds fan Anthony Gordon returning to his roots from Newcastle
Liverpool are expected to be active in the summer transfer window, with attacking reinforcements required at Anfield, and Michael Owen has told GOAL why “brilliant player” Anthony Gordon could be a shrewd investment. The England international, who is currently on Newcastle’s books, came through the ranks at Everton but grew up as a Reds supporter.
Liverpool need Salah replacement and cover for Ekitike
On the back of making 78 appearances for the Toffees, Gordon bid farewell to Merseyside when heading to Tyneside as part of a £45 million ($61m) transfer package in January 2023. His asking price has increased since then, as a proven Premier League and Champions League performer with 17 senior England caps to his name, but a return to his Merseyside roots is being mooted.
Liverpool find themselves in the market for forward-thinking talent as they prepare to bid farewell to ‘Egyptian King’ Mohamed Salah. He will be released from the final year of his contract as a free agent when the 2025-26 campaign comes to a close. A man with two Premier League titles, four Golden Boots and three PFA Player of the Year awards to his name will leave big boots to be filled at Anfield.
The Reds are also having to contend with an untimely injury that has been suffered by Hugo Ekitike, with the French forward facing up to at least nine months on the sidelines with a ruptured Achilles. Cover in the central striking department may be sought there.
Should Liverpool target Gordon in the next transfer window?
Gordon is, as a versatile operator, someone that could tick multiple boxes for Liverpool. He is able to line up on the flanks or down the middle. With that in mind, could he become another big-money addition for a club that indulged in a record-breaking spending spree during 2025?
When that question was put to Owen, the former Reds striker told GOAL: “That's more in keeping with what I think that Liverpool need - a wide player.
“They've got a big problem in that Salah is leaving. They're going to have to fill that gap. On the left-hand side, [Cody] Gakpo has been a very good player for a very long time but he's not had the best second, two-thirds of the season at all. He's opened the door to young Rio [Ngumoha]. Whether he's ready to play more regularly is obviously a debate.
“But I would think that a right-sided attacker has got to be a priority to fill Salah’s shoes. That would be my idea of the first position that needs to be filled.”
Pressed further on whether Gordon could be that man, Owen added: “I think he's a brilliant player, absolutely. Whether you could snare him away from Newcastle is obviously a different matter. But as an individual player, yeah, a big fan. I think he should have a big role in the World Cup this year.”
How Gordon reacted to previous Liverpool links
It is not the first time that Gordon has seen a switch to his boyhood club mooted. Two years ago, in 2024, links to Liverpool turned his head in a summer that also included a first major tournament as a senior international.
Gordon has since told the Daily Mail of that saga, which delivered no Merseyside homecoming: “It was difficult for me because one, I had the Euros, which was horrendous for me mentally. I was there but I wasn’t playing.
“Then I had the transfer stuff. With PSR [Profit and Sustainability Rules], I thought I was going to leave at some point in the window. It didn’t happen. I had to get my head around that [idea of joining Liverpool] to begin with, and then to get my head around it again [when it didn’t happen] was hard. I’m a human being. It’s really difficult.”