'Shows the faith Eddie Howe had': Chris Sutton says Newcastle pulled off masterstroke by signing £40m player

05/05/2024 08:15

Newcastle United are staking a late claim for a Europa League place after running out 4-1 winners at Burnley on Saturday.

Callum Wilson opened the scoring on 19 minutes when he drilled home on the rebound after Alexander Isak had drawn a save from Clarets keeper Arijanet Muric.

In the 35th minute, Newcastle got their second as Jacob Murphy set up Sean Longstaff to stroke the ball into the far corner, leaving Muric with no chance.

The Magpies effectively ended the game as a contest on 40 minutes when Anthony Gordon squared for the unmarked Bruno Guimaraes to fire in at the near post.

And just five minutes before the hour, Jacob Murphy crossed into the box for Isak to take a touch and fire into the empty net to make it 4-0.

Although Burnley pulled a goal back through Dara O'Shea's header on 86 minutes, it was too little too late for Vincent Kompany’s charges.

Newcastle delivered a superb performance with many of their players standing out for their individual displays on the day.

For instance, Anthony Gordon was impressive as he grabbed an assist, won a penalty that was sadly missed, and caused Burnley no end of problems.

BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton liked what he saw from the £40million man and sung his praises on 5 Live.

What did Chris Sutton say about Newcastle star Anthony Gordon?

“Anthony Gordon has again been excellent today,” said Sutton. “It shows the faith Eddie Howe had when signing him.

“Everyone knew he could be a tricky customer at Everton, but he has been very consistent and will have impressed Gareth Southgate too.”

Since Howe took the reins, it’s not uncommon for him to take his time with getting new signings used to their new surroundings.

This was the case with Guimaraes, for instance, and it was the case with Gordon too.

Both have gone on to impress and, as Sutton says, Gordon may well be in Southgate’s thoughts for Euro 2024.