Newcastle United attacker and Marcus Rashford are rivals for a starting spot in Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice squad, but Gordon is amazed by the Barcelona man’s brilliance and resilience.
Anthony Gordon has described his main rival for the England starting XI as “incredible”, giving an interesting insight into a player who has divided opinion in recent years. Manager Thomas Tuchel has always been a fan of Marcus Rashford, but he also praised Gordon for his side’s 5-0 win over Serbia last month.
However, in a stunning victory in Belgrade, Rashford replaced Gordon midway through the second half and converted a late penalty to score the goal. And Gordon, 24, has nothing but praise for the Manchester United attacker, who is currently on loan at Barcelona.
The Newcastle United attacker said: “I think his mindset is incredible. People have looked down on him but he’s been through so much in the last few years.”
“To get back to this level… people will never understand how difficult it is. He deserves a lot of credit.
“He’s a nice guy. Quiet, sweet, just going about his job. The perception of him on the outside is pretty crazy. He’s a nice, polite young man.”
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Rashford, 27, is enjoying his time at Barcelona, having scored twice in the Champions League win at St James’ Park. And Gordon believes his success in Spain shows strong character.
“As humans, when someone succeeds, we want to knock them off their perch,” Gordon said. “When you’re so successful at such a young age, people get a little bored and try to take you to the next step.
“So it’s a testament to his mentality that he didn’t allow that. He’s still playing in England, Barcelona and the Champions League. It’s a testament to his character.”
One area where Rashford seems to have an advantage over Gordon is in the scoring department. Rashford has scored 18 goals in 64 international games, while Gordon has scored one goal in 14 games.
And the Newcastle man knows this is a record that needs to improve. That’s why he’s picking Harry Kane’s brain.
“When you look at Harry’s finishing, it’s no coincidence why he scores so many goals. He trains hard and is very focused,” Gordon said.
“It’s no big secret that I’m not very good at heading the ball, so I went to him last camp and asked him if he could give me some tips on how to head the ball because I wasn’t loaded enough. He gave me some good tips and I’ll leave it between us.”
“But I’ve definitely improved since then. To be honest, I probably do his head most of the time, but I try to pick everything I can from him because he’s a genius.”
And Gordon saw hints of Kane in his new teammate at the club, Nick Woltemade, saying: “I think they have a very similar style of football in that they almost want to be quarterbacks. They want to come in and create. They don’t just want to finish chances like a typical striker.”
And the regular was hugely impressed by the way Waltemade converted a penalty after Gordon was substituted in last weekend’s Premier League game against Nottingham Forest.
“It was awesome,” Gordon said. “I was a little disappointed to leave the pitch because I couldn’t handle it. He did very well. It was a big moment for him, but he’s doing great. Long may he continue like this.”
But will Gordon remain on penalty duty for Newcastle after Waltemade’s eye-catching spot-kick? “Of course,” Scouser smiled.
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