Newcastle news: Eddie Howe urges Anthony Gordon to stay ‘fully focused’ amid Arsenal talk

Head coach Eddie Howe urged Anthony Gordon to maintain his “full concentration” after the match Newcastle United The forward has been linked to the move to Arsenal.

Gordon is the latest major figure at the club to be reported to be of interest elsewhere.

This comes despite the England international rejecting such talk and describing it as a “load of rubbish” in an interview with journalists just last week.

Newcastle sold Alexander Isak to Liverpool for a British record fee of £125m last summer – after the Swede went on strike – and Howe was asked how he could avoid a repeat of a similar saga.

“I’m not sure there’s much I can do about it,” he said. “I haven’t seen the story, so it’s news to me.

“But we are in the middle of the season, we are in the middle of some of the biggest games of his career, and who knows what will happen internationally with Anthony in the summer as well.

“He doesn’t have time to look left or right. He has to be fully focused on the direct attack and the next game, and try to be as good as possible.”

Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento are just some of the Newcastle players whose transfers have been touted in the media in recent months.

But Howe said it comes with the territory.

“It’s your industry that creates those stories,” he added. “I’m a little isolated from that.

“If you haven’t read it, you don’t know who’s been linked to who. Isn’t it part of modern football that everyone is linked with moves these days, not just the Newcastle players, but a lot of other clubs probably have the same issues.

“It’s really irrelevant. That’s how players react to it. If they internalize it and it affects them, then it’s negative. But I think our players are strong enough to ignore it.”