Anthony Gordon transfer twist will spark Liverpool rethink after Newcastle agreement

The Premier League’s mini-transfer window came to a close on Monday as a new financial year clicked into gear for the majority of teams.

Only Liverpool, Arsenal, and Wolverhampton Wanderers had financial years that ended on May 31, with the remaining 17 all having June 30 as the cut-off date for the 2023/24 accounting period.

For some clubs it came and went without much thought, but for clubs facing a dilemma when it came to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules it created a flurry of activity in the days leading up to June 30 as clubs tried to book player trading profit in order to ease PSR concerns and avoid potential scrutiny, and competitive sanctions, next season.

READ MORE: Anthony Gordon may have given game away about Liverpool transfer from Newcastle

READ MORE: Liverpool signing set to officially join up with Slot after Copa elimination

A number of impacted clubs engaged in player-trading homegrown talent with each other to book trading profit, with academy graduates having no book value, a move that raised some eyebrows and has invited some scrutiny from the Premier League over fair market value.

Among the clubs to be making moves prior to the financial year end was Newcastle United, with the Magpies offering winger Anthony Gordon to Liverpool.

Sources told the ECHO that Gordon was a player Liverpool liked, but it was the insistence that Jarell Quansah be part of the deal that scuppered any move prior to June 30, with the Reds not wanting to see the talented 21-year-old defender leave Anfield.

For Newcastle, it wasn’t a deal that would have solved many PSR issues. Gordon signed for Newcastle from Everton for an initial £40m, with the deal rising to £45m.

Gordon has a remaining book value of £32m, so the £40m fee that was mooted for Gordon would give them a rather minimal £8m profit, one that wouldn’t have been enormously impactful for PSR. But it was the desire to sign Quansah that would have enabled Newcastle to bring in a quality player without adding to their already high amortisation costs.

It wasn’t a deal that worked for Liverpool, though, given that at Quansah’s £20m value, a valuation on the low side using guidance from Transfermarkt, would’ve taken the overall cost of the deal to £60m and left the Reds lighter in defence, a position they require depth, while wide areas are not a pressing concern in terms of depth at present.

With the passing of the June 30 deadline went any real leverage that the Reds had when it came to Gordon and a fee given that Newcastle were able, just about, to raise funds through the sales of the likes of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton & Hove Albion. The need to sell Gordon is less pressing, and given that the England international has become one of their most important players, there will likely be an alternative player trading plan that exists to sell on players with greater trading profit, such as the likes of Sean Longstaff.

That means the cost of acquiring Gordon will likely now be considerably higher unless a makeweight in a deal can be offered the other way, although there doesn’t seem an obvious candidate at Liverpool that fits that bracket.

A cut-price Gordon deal is now unlikely due to his high book value, and with Liverpool notoriously strict in the market when it comes to transfer spending, it might be that the appeal that existed for a brief moment in time wears off as the summer progresses.