ACCORDING to Eddie Howe, Anthony Gordon is “willing to play anywhere for Newcastle United”. Let’s be honest, though, the Magpies head coach was hardly likely to say anything different. It would be quite something if Gordon had point-blank refused to play on the right wing.

There’s a difference between playing in a certain position and excelling in it, however, just as there is also a difference between grudgingly agreeing to fulfil a certain role as opposed to keenly embracing a positional switch. When it comes to Gordon, and his enforced recent move from his preferred position on the left to a refined role on the right, it is easy to tell which side of the fence the winger is on.

On all available evidence, Gordon doesn’t really want to be on the right flank. The eye test isn’t always the best way to assess a player’s mental state, but you don’t have to be an amateur psychologist to conclude that Gordon’s body language changes when he is shifted across the pitch.

Gordon played on the right for Newcastle’s matches against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest that preceded the international break, and while the Magpies won both games, the 23-year-old carried himself differently. Gone was the carefree abandon that characterises Gordon when he is at his best, replaced instead by a much sulkier, more frustrated demeanour. He was less ebullient, more reluctant to try things, and generally less effective.

Yes, he delivered a sensational cross for the Alexander Isak header that settled the Arsenal game, proving he is more than capable of providing a creative threat from the right. He didn’t look comfortable when he was unable to cut inside though, with his general reluctance to go outside his opposition full-back limiting his threat.

Gordon was largely anonymous in the first half of the Forest game, with both his and the rest of the side’s attacking fortunes only really being transformed when Howe opted for a tactical tweak that saw Gordon restored to the left, with Joelinton repositioned on the right. Suddenly, Newcastle looked balanced and effective again, with Joelinton cutting infield to score with the kind of long-range left-footed strike it is hard to imagine Gordon being able to conjure up from a similar position.

The shift in the winger’s outlook and approach was highlighted by his two international appearances for England in the last week. Playing on the left against Greece and Ireland, Gordon was back to his best.

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He was a constant threat in the Greece game, breaking forward purposefully, isolating Greece’s right-back, Lazaros Rota, one-on-one, and turning inside to create shooting opportunities that helped England achieve an emphatic, and much-needed, win. He was equally as effective against Ireland, dominating his personal battle against Dara O’Shea and claiming his first international goal as he drifted in at the back post to convert Tino Livramento’s deflected cross.

This was Gordon at his most direct and threatening, and a vivid illustration of how Newcastle need the winger to be playing as they look to continue their push up the Premier League table. We haven’t really seen that Gordon in a Newcastle shirt this season, and we certainly didn’t see it in either of the final two domestic games before the international break. Why? Because in those matches, he was playing on the right.

Moving Gordon solves a few problems for Eddie Howe. It means Joelinton can play on the left, enabling the Brazilian to recreate the partnership with Joe Willock that has proved productive on a number of occasions in the last couple of seasons. It also makes it easier to get Harvey Barnes into the starting side if Howe decides that is the way he wants to go.

It blunts Gordon’s effectiveness, though, reducing the impact of arguably the best player in the Newcastle team. Can Gordon claim to be that? On the evidence of his domestic performances so far this season, no. On the glimpses of what we saw on the international stage this week, quite possibly.

If he’s not playing on the left, it can be argued he should not be playing at all, and in a Newcastle team that has lacked attacking cohesion for much of the season so far, that would be madness. So, when Howe selects his side for next Monday’s return to domestic action against West Ham, Gordon should be back on the left flank.

There are plenty of options on the right – Jacob Murphy, Miguel Almiron, an out-of-position Barnes – but given the way in which he performed in the second half at the City Ground, it’s surely worth seeing what Joelinton can do for the full 90 minutes.

Unlike Gordon, whose ‘willingness to play anywhere’ can often appear questionable, Joelinton is a player who is not only perfectly happy to adapt to any position on the pitch, but whose ability to positively impact a game isn’t really affected by his starting role. As he proved against Forest, the Brazilian remains an attacking threat down the right, with his disruptive, ball-winning qualities in midfield not dependent on the side of the pitch on which he finds himself.

True, switching over to the right means Joelinton’s link with Willock would be broken. But there is no reason why Gordon and Willock could not combine just as effectively, and with his ability to go on the inside or outside of his opponent, Joelinton could prove the perfect foil for Livramento’s attacking runs from right-back.

It feels like the right way to go, and while in some ways it could be construed as kowtowing to Gordon’s demands, there is little point in sticking with a decision that has not really worked. As Lee Carsley would no doubt attest, Gordon is a world-class winger when playing down the left. As Howe should concede, you can’t really say the same when he is stationed on the right.