Liverpool turned down an approach from Newcastle United to sign Anthony Gordon earlier last month, and Eddie Howe has confirmed talks took place with the player

Sport Ciaran Kelly Newcastle United writer and Matt Abbott

Newcastle and Liverpool held talks over Gordon last month as the north-east club sought to sell players to comply with Premier League profitability and sustainability rules. It was claimed that Liverpool turned down the opportunity to sign Gordon after proposed a swap deal involving Jarell Quansah. But the Reds remain long-term admirers of Gordon, a boyhood Liverpool fan who previously played for the club as a youth before being released and eventually joining Everton.

That has led to suggestions that the player had his head turned by the speculation. Howe, though, is convinced that was not the case.

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Reflecting on those frantic few days at the end of last month, Howe acknowledged: "He's such an important player for us. We didn't want to lose anybody. Why would we want to lose our best players? We fought really hard to make the right decisions in those last couple of weeks.

"It was very, very difficult, but Anthony is an integral part of what we're doing. He needs a bit of a break. He's had a long season and the Euros will have been emotional for him as well. Hopefully, by the time he comes back, he's ready to go."

He reiterated: "The rules forced us to do things we didn't want to do. It was a really difficult time; there was a lot of uncertainty, and we didn't know what was going to happen.