Pete O’Rourke has issued his thoughts on whether Everton should accept the mammoth bid tabled for one exciting prospect…

What’s the word?

Speaking to Football FanCast, the journalist gave his views on the Toffees' stance on Anthony Gordon, who has attracted huge interest from Premier League giants Chelsea. The west London club reportedly had a £45m bid rejected earlier this week.

O’Rourke stated: “Yeah it would be a huge blow to lose him”, adding: “He’s a boyhood Everton fan. He’s somebody who connects with the fans as well and after losing Richarlison, if they were to lose Gordon as well that would be a real bad signal sent out from Everton to lose their best players this summer.”

It could be Ross Barkley 2.0

Everton have had a rich history of losing their best players to richer clubs, especially in recent times as they have suffered from the lack of Champions League football or any trophies of note.

Romelu Lukaku and John Stones are two of the more notorious exits, but it is Ross Barkley’s move to Chelsea which is drawing excruciating parallels with this transfer saga.

Coming off the back of a fine 2016/17 season in which Everton finished seventh, the England midfielder had been instrumental as he featured 36 times in the top flight, scoring five goals and setting up nine. He was the Toffees' talisman, and the fans adored him.

However, Barkley's controversial move to the capital, as he left for just £15m despite rumours swirling around the previous year that Manchester City were preparing a £50m bid, left many Evertonians furious. Some felt that he had left the club short-changed, and despite being a boyhood blue himself, that the had sold the club out for his own career.

Gordon has just had arguably his breakout season, when 35 league appearances yielded four goals and two assists.

Although would be heart-wrenching for Everton to lose their star youngster, to gain such a huge financial boost would make the move much easier to take than Barkley’s exit back in 2018.

What the £10k-per-week "beast" - in the words of journalist Jeff Wallner - gives to Everton is an exceptional work rate, sitting in the top 4% among positional peers in Europe's top five leagues for both pressures and tackles.

However, FBRef suggests that the winger he most resembles in playing style is Toffees summer signing Dwight McNeil, so the blow of potentially selling Gordon could be softened by the 22-year-old's arrival from Burnley.

Regardless, to lose a young Scouser who has done so well for the club would bring back painful memories of the Barkley sale, and that is something that Everton fans would surely not want to see happen again.

Chelsea may have made a mouth-watering offer, but as O’Rourke claims, Gordon's connection with the fans could be priceless.