Eddie Howe says he won’t play Anthony Gordon if he feels the winger is not totally committed to Newcastle.
Reports this week have suggested the England international is pondering a move away from Tyneside this summer after becoming frustrated with the lack of progress this season.
Bayern Munich and Arsenal have been linked with the 25-year-old and Howe insists he will only select players that want to be at the club.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Bournemouth, he said: “I discuss things with players all the time. I don’t necessarily address transfer speculation unless it gets to the point that I feel I have to.
“After I had the chat with Sandro [Tonali], the biggest thing I look for is the commitment to training. That will be the same with Anthony [Gordon] and every player.
“I won’t play a player if I don’t think they are 100% committed to the club and its future. I have to do what I think is right for the team.”
We need a win, says Newcastle boss Howe
There has been no suggestion of a change in Gordon’s effort and he is set to start against Bournemouth in a match Newcastle have to win to maintain their outside chance of a place in Europe next season.
“We need that [winning] feeling back. It’s been too long. We’re desperate to win and play well,” said Howe, whose side are 14th after back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace and Sunderland.
“This week we have had a mix of emotions. We had the disappointing result against Crystal Palace and there was a bit of anger, all those emotions which can be really positive for you, so we’ve tried to use them. There haven’t been too many smiling faces around the training ground but I think the feeling is one of steely determination to put it right.
“It’s been a strange year in terms of the Premier League table, it’s been very tight all season. We need a run of wins that we’ve needed all season. The biggest difference has been the lack of consistency.
“We’re in a difficult period but we can still end up with a really successful season so that has to be our aim.”
Newcastle’s majority owners, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, have been in the news this week with the future of LIV Golf – another one of their flagship projects – reportedly on the cusp of being canned.
Howe was asked if PIF had offered any assurances to Newcastle regarding their involvement in the club, and said: “It’s business as usual for me. I am obviously not in direct communication with the PIF on a daily basis. My focus is on coaching the team.”
I will walk away from Newcastle if it helps the club – Howe
Howe’s future is also uncertain with sections of the fanbase starting to turn.
The 48-year-old insisted the “fire is burning” inside but also said he would walk away if that was in the club’s best interests.
“I just want to serve the club and do what’s right for the football club,” he said. “That’s always been my aim. If that’s me leaving to help the club, then of course that’s something I’ll do, I’ve got no issue doing that. It’s not about me. But if I believe I’m the right person to take the club forward, which I do currently right now, then I’ll do that and I’ll fight to the end.
“I can understand why people would look at it and say that [there’s going to be a summer of change]. There’s a few players out of contract and you’ve got some big players who have done amazing things for the club maybe entering their final few months of their time here. You’ve got possibly players leaving in the summer and that natural evolution on that side, which happens at a football club. So, I can understand why the ‘end of a cycle’ might be used. What that looks like is unknown. It’s always unknown.
“In terms of my fire, my fire is burning very, very strongly. That’s no guarantee from my side what’s going to happen in the future because as I’ve said, the forces that move in football clubs move quickly. But my fire is there. There’s loads of wood stacked up and I’m ready to put it on it.”
