Premier League news: Newcastle Utd face Anthony Gordon dilemma in race for European football
European football looks like a distant dream for Newcastle United if they don’t start turning chances into goals.
Hope remains, however, after an attacking solution with Anthony Gordon was discovered.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Mosaddek Abu takes a look at the Magpies’ recent struggles.
Newcastle in attacking limbo
It has been clear to see that Newcastle have been in attacking limbo in a post–Alexander Isak world, creating chances but struggling to score.
Anthony Gordon being upfront is working out so far for the Magpies because he fits what Howe needs and can run in behind, dropping off centre-backs and exploiting the space behind them.
Despite the positive impact Gordon has made so far in the forward role, his goal record in the league isn’t the greatest, with three from 21 games.
His last goal in the league came against Liverpool, which was his first in a year.
He is also a leader of the press and caused Manchester City a few problems the other day but failed to test the goalkeeper, which is the key issue for the Magpies.
This season in the league, Newcastle have scored 38 goals with an xG of 40.5.
Their conversion rate on big chances is 30.3%, which is the third-worst in the league.
In the 2023/24 season, they scored 85 goals with an xG of 77.08, and their big-chance conversion rate was among the highest in the league at 47.76%, ranking them fourth-best in that category.
The following term, their xG took a slight dip, dropping to 65.36, while they scored 65 goals and saw their big-chance conversion rate drop significantly to 12.2%.
Gordon the possible solution
Now, whilst the Magpies have gotten their numbers up from last season, their current conversion rate isn’t great.
Attempts to lead the Newcastle attack just haven’t paid off.
Even though Nick Woltemade made a positive start to life on Tyneside, he has clearly struggled – and the overall team struggles because he’s not a player who runs in behind and slots through defenders.
Things could have looked different if Yoane Wissa was available from the start, but injuries delayed his debut until December.
The 29-year-old has managed to add a few goals to his name, yet he hasn’t been a real threat and is lacking match sharpness, with an xG of 1.41.
Newcastle’s attack has only worked with Gordon in a forward role due to that set-up being a close resemblance to the one that included Isak – after all, a man-to-man press works best when there is a forward with pace.
But that doesn’t rule out Gordon’s shortcomings, with his form in the league being underwhelming.
His pace makes him a dangerous threat on the attack, but he has recorded a low shot-conversion rate at 8.3%.
Poor decision-making in the final third combined with a lack of creative midfielders has also led to inefficiency.
So, while Howe’s Magpies have found a solution to their attack, they need to start taking their chances again.
A European finish is still salvageable this season, then, but only if they can fix their goal-scoring problem first.
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