LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 24: Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United looks on prior to the Premier League match between Fulham and Newcastle United at Craven Cottage on May 24, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Anthony Gordon will be a Barcelona player next season. While the English winger’s move to the Catalan club hasn’t been officially announced, pictures of Gordon travelling from Newcastle to complete a €80m transfer have been widely circulated. Barring any medical or contractual complication, Gordon will wear blaugrana after the summer.

This comes after Gordon was strongly linked with a switch to Bayern Munich. The 25-year-old was left out of Newcastle United’s squad for the final two games of the Premier League season, hinting that Gordon was likely to be on his way out of St James’ Park in the summer transfer window.

Barcelona, however, has seemingly won the race to sign the England international who will feature for The Three Lions at this summer’s World Cup. This is confusing to those who watched Gordon struggle through much of the 2025/26 campaign at club level. Who are some of Europe’s biggest clubs scrambling to sign him?

In the Champions League, Gordon hit double figures for goals. Europe brought the best out of the winger who was Newcastle’s most reliable threat in the final third. In the Premier League, though, he only registered six goals in a campaign that saw the Magpies finish in the bottom half of the table.

As a direct threat, Gordon is proven. He is quick and willing to press from the front. This is something Hansi Flick will look for as Barcelona manager and might explain why the Catalans have targeted Gordon over pushing for a deal to sign Marcus Rashford from Manchester United on a permanent basis. Rashford doesn’t have the same work ethic.

At times, though, Gordon’s decision-making in the attacking third and in front of goal can be lacking. There were several matches last season in which he was wasteful when Newcastle needed a much more clinical forward to finish the changes Eddie Howe’s team were creating.

Barca were always likely to enter the market for a new forward this summer. Robert Lewandowski will leave the club at the end of his contract while Rashford will return to Manchester United once his loan deal expires at the end of the season. Flick needs more bodies in the final third.

Julian Alvarez has been strongly linked with a switch to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid, but Gordon’s move was more surprising. Not many believe he is ready for such a step up having struggled at times for consistent output as a Newcastle United player, but this is a move that could see him utilise his full potential.