EDDIE HOWE claims Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has an excellent chance of securing a maiden international call-up when Gareth Southgate names his England squad on Thursday.
Gordon was the Player of the Tournament as England Under-21s won the European Championships earlier this summer, but the 22-year-old is yet to secure a first call-up to Southgate’s senior squad.
The England boss was at St James’ Park on Saturday as Newcastle beat Arsenal 1-0, with Gordon one of the players who is likely to have been on his radar.
With Marcus Rashford out of form, James Maddison suffering from injury issues, Eberechi Eze only just returning from a lengthy injury lay-off and Raheem Sterling seemingly out of the international picture, there is the potential for Gordon to secure one of the attacking positions in Southgate’s next squad.
Thursday will see the England manager name his squad for England’s Euros double-header against Malta and North Macedonia – matches that are effectively dead rubbers given that Southgate’s side have already qualified for next summer’s finals in Germany – and Howe thinks Gordon must have a great chance of being involved.
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The Newcastle boss said: “I’m sure he will be in the frame because Gareth has been at a few of our games, and he would have seen first-hand how well Anthony is doing.
“He’s competing with very good players in his position, so let’s see what Gareth decides.”
Gordon is expected to be in Newcastle’s starting line-up when they take on Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park in the Champions League this evening, with the high-profile fixture providing him with a final opportunity to catch Southgate’s eye.
Howe said: “There is no better place to do it for Anthony - this is the stage you want to perform on.”
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