Deco explains how Barcelona secured Anthony Gordon deal

Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed the club’s thinking behind signing English winger Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United at the start of the summer, before the World Cup.

The 25-year-old has quickly adapted to life at the Catalan club since completing the move, with Deco saying Barcelona had identified a need for greater intensity and attacking power in the squad.

“We had a clear idea of what we were looking for,” Deco told RAC 1. “One of the difficult things last year was that, when Raphinha was absent, the team’s energy dropped and we lost that level. We needed more strength and intensity.”

Barcelona assessed a number of wide players before deciding to pursue Gordon, while recognising the difficulty of signing footballers from the English Premier League.

“We analysed many wingers,” Deco said. “We knew that signing players from the English Premier League was almost impossible.”

The club nevertheless had the financial capacity to complete the transfer, while head coach Hansi Flick was fully convinced that Gordon would be the right addition.

“At the beginning, we had the ability to complete the deal,” Deco added. “Hansi Flick was completely convinced about signing him, and that was where we started working on finalising the transfer.”

Deco said Gordon was equally keen to join Barcelona and become part of the club’s plans, which was a decisive factor in completing the agreement.

“Gordon was very enthusiastic about being part of the project,” he said. “That is why we paid his market value.”

Barcelona have not officially disclosed the transfer fee. However, reports have put the cost of the deal at up to 80 million euros.

The Catalan side saw off increased interest from Bayern Munich to sign the England international, who was 25 at the time of the move.

Gordon became the 13th English player to represent Barcelona. He followed in the footsteps of two of the club’s most prominent English players, Gary Lineker and Marcus Rashford.