ANTONY Gordon will return to Newcastle United on cloud nine after the midfielder's dream summer - with the former Everton man "over the moon" at being named Player of the Tournament as he helped England's Under-21s to their historic European Championships success.

Gordon starred as Lee Carsley's side conquered Europe for the first time in almost 40 years, with the Young Lions edging out Spain 1-0 in a dramatic final on Saturday night after James Trafford saved a penalty deep in stoppage time.

Newcastle's Gordon scooped the Player of the Tournament prize after scoring two goals and getting one assist, catching the eye in a centre-forward role, which will no doubt give Eddie Howe something to think about ahead of the coming Premier League season.

Gordon had a difficult start to life at St James' Park after his January switch from the Toffees but promised at the back end of last season that he'd be "on it like never before" for the Euros and the start of next term - and he's so far been true to his word.

“I’m delighted and over the moon,” he said after winning his award.

“I feel as though I’ve had a good tournament and I don’t want give the cliché because it’s the truth – me winning the trophy was down to my teammates and the staff.

“Lee (Carsley) and everyone involved have been really good with me throughout. The team is a really unselfish group and there could’ve been six or seven players who won it. That’s testament to how together we’ve been throughout the tournament.

“It was a very intense game, but we knew that coming into it. Spain are a top team and they have a particular style of play which is difficult to play against. So we knew we’d have to dig in at times and we did that really well ,and in tournaments sometimes you need a bit of luck and it came our way.

“I felt coming into the tournament, we had so much individual ability but it’s how you structure that and how we as individuals can put our egos aside and come together as one and that was the main part.

“Our chemistry off the pitch was second-to-none, I can’t tell you how good it was and I feel like the group in general was together in one goal and that was what we did.”

Delighted boss Carsley said: "I think the players deserved it. They've worked so hard and they've been so motivated all season.

"It (the final) was difficult at times, Spain are a very good team but to get the win and to keep a clean sheet, the players deserve so much credit.

"I'm really proud, along with the the rest of the staff, we knew we had the players, we knew we had the quality but it was a case of them coming together as a squad, helping each other and supporting each other throughout.

"They've had a long season, they maybe had a week off then they came into camp and we've been away for a month and they go back to their clubs in 10-15 days, so I think they've earned the chance to maybe have a little drink tonight!"

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Gordon will now be given an extended break before reporting back to Newcastle for pre-season, which got underway on Sunday.

The first team squad is split for the start of fitness testing, with some reporting back on Sunday and others back in on Monday.

Kieran Trippier, Nick Pope, Sean Longstaff and Jacob Murphy were among those back in on Sunday.

Allan Saint-Maximin also reported back amid fresh uncertainty surrounding his future as Newcastle move for Leicester City's Harvey Barnes.

Saint-Maximin has been linked with a move to Saudi this summer, with AC Milan, Everton and Crystal Palace also said to be keen on the winger.

Howe said at the end of last season that the winger's future "will be dictated by Maxi himself" but regular football could be hard to come by for the 26-year-old at St James' Park next term as the Magpies look set to win the four-team battle for Barnes.

The Leicester winger has been at the top of David Moyes' West Ham wishlist throughout the summer but the Hammers dithered while waiting for Declan Rice's Arsenal switch to be finalised. Villa have also been monitoring Barnes' situation, as have Tottenham, who were keen on signing the winger alongside James Maddison, but it's Newcastle who have jumped to the front of the queue, with increasing confidence that a deal can be struck and finalised in the next week.

Barnes impressed for Leicester last season, scoring 13 Premier League goals, despite the Foxes suffering relegation to the Championship.