An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their efforts to bolster their squad during the January transfer window...

What's the talk?

The Daily Mail's Craig Hope has claimed that the Magpies are "set to tempt Everton’s resolve with enquiry for Anthony Gordon" before the end of the month.

The accompanying article states that the winger is high on the club's list of targets as they attempt to sign a 'versatile' attacking player to replace Chris Wood, who has joined Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season.

It claims that Gordon has fallen out of favour in recent weeks at Frank Lampard's side and that Newcastle will now make an enquiry in the hope of snapping him up heading into the second half of the campaign.

Jacob Murphy 2.0

Newcastle could be running the risk of repeating their Jacob Murphy disaster by bringing the Toffees winger to St. James' Park in the coming days.

The Magpies signed the current Toon forward from Norwich for £12m in the summer of 2017 after the gem had a breakout year at Carrow Road in the 2016/17 campaign.

He produced eight goals and eight assists in 37 Championship appearances for the Canaries and had yet to prove himself in the Premier League, with Newcastle taking a gamble on his potential.

The move has not worked out perfectly for Murphy as he has scored just six times, whilst assisting 10 goals, in 129 matches for the club in all competitions since moving to Tyneside.

Gordon, who was once dubbed "frightening" by non-league manager Luke Garrard, could be the next version of the ex-Yellows star as his worrying form this season follows on from his breakthrough campaign last term.

The England under-21 international caught the eye in the Premier League in 2021/22 with four goals and two assists in 25 starts for Everton - averaging a Sofascore rating of 6.89.

However, the gem's form has dipped in 2022/23 as the forward has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.74 and chipped in with three goals and zero assists in 16 top-flight outings.

He has gone from creating 1.0 chances to 0.5 per game in the Premier League and these worrying statistics indicate that the attacker is struggling to live up to the standards that he set in 2021/22.

Therefore, Newcastle could repeat the mistake that they made with Murphy by signing Gordon before the winger is able to prove that he can make a big impact at the top end of the pitch on a regular basis.