Heading into Saturday’s friendly at Hull City, most of the team news surrounding Newcastle United relates to transfer rumors, not injuries/fitness. That has to be very refreshing to their fans, given the season long injury crisis the club endured. Anthony Gordon has been strongly linked with a switch to his boyhood club of Liverpool FC, but manager Eddie Howe didn’t say anything at all that made it sound like the winger is exiting.
Newcastle United at Hull City FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. July 27, 2pm local, MKM Stadium, Kingston Upon Hull, England
Competition: club friendly
Newcastle United Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
“I’d welcome Anthony back with three arms if I had them,” Howe said as Gordon currently remains on post Euro 2024 holiday.
“He’s an integral part of what we’re doing. We’ve had no conversations over the summer where it has been fractious or negative.
“He’s always been the Anthony Gordon who has given absolutely everything to Newcastle and I want to make that clear to all our supporters.”
“Anthony needs a bit of a break but by the time he comes back, he’ll be ready to go. He’s such an important player for us. We didn’t want to lose anybody. Why would we want to lose our best players?
“We fought really hard to make the right decisions but in those last few weeks it was very, very difficult (having to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh).”
Shifting gears to Hull, they have a new boss in Tim Walter, and he looks poised to get a double boost to his squad. This could be the first start in a Tigers shirt for new signing Cody Drameh on Saturday afternoon.
The other addition would be striker Oscar Estupinan, who could be in the team after being recalled from a loan spell.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.