Toon Players Praised and In Demand

Anthony Gordon has already shown signs this season that he has shaken off his injury niggles and is returning to the blistering form of his first full season at the club.

That first season delivered an incredible 12 goals and 11 assists that made Gordon's early doubters eat their words. His form also delivered a call up to the England squad where he put in some decent performances, capped off by his best yet against Lativa last night.

Scoring the first goal, an absolute cracker, in a thumping 5-0 win Gordon was the star of the show, especially in the first 45 minutes. He made the media supporters of Rashford eat humble pie and showed that he is in pole position to nail down the highly contested LW spot.

Bruno and Sandro Tonali were also in top form for Brazil and Italy with the Italian press raving about Tonali's performances. After Sandro's "never say never" reply when asked if he would return to Italy one day, the Juventus rumours started flying again like pigeons around Grey's Monument. Nailing down Tonali to a new contract has to be a Ross Wilson priority.

Two more Toon players attracting transfer rumours are Will Osula and Sven Botman.

Osula was close to a £30M move to Eintracht Frankfurt almost on summer transfer deadline day only for the plug to be pulled when Frankfurt changed their offer to a loan with no obligation to buy.

The rumour now is they'll return with a straight £30M offer in January. Most fans would have accepted that offer in September as a very good price for a player who some brand as a hard working 'headless chicken'. Three goals this season might give many second thoughts.

Standing in for the injured Wissa and newly arrived Woltemade, Osula grabbed his chance with goals and performances that went a long way to justifying the high level of confidence he apparently has in his own ability. The question now is; should we sell him?

What we don't want is another Elliott Anderson situation. Anderson never got a run of games until he went to Forest where he then showed why Eddie Howe was so dismayed to lose him. Now reaping fulsome praise for his England performances he is a standout £60M+ player.

How would Osula perform with regular first team games? The fact is, like Anderson before him, the quality ahead of Osula means he won't get those games any time soon at the Toon. Is a loan the best option? We'll find out in January.

Next up in the rumour mill, Sven Botman. And guess where the reported interest is coming from? Liverpool. Whether or not it is true, Eddie has a big decision to make at LCB. For all Dan Burn's terrific performances, Botman has more quality and has to play.

Eddie has got round that by playing Burn at LB during Lewis Hall's injury, but what happens when Hall is fit? Dan was getting exposed for lack of pace at LB before moving to CB, and at his age he isn't getting any quicker. But, can Eddie drop a current England international?

On transfer rumours; it's a double edged sword. We've got some terrific players who would grace most teams, and that's the type of players us fans want at the club.

The downside is there will be rumours galore and after the Isak saga we know that lengthy contracts don't stop the rumours, or a move. But, far better to have a squad of players who are envied by other clubs, than players teams turn a blind eye to.

Comments welcome.

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