Coming off the back of an injury-ridden campaign, it seems Newcastle United are going to be busy this summer in preparation for the next Premier League season.
The extra games coming from playing European football, mixed with a lack of squad depth, left Newcastle very thin at times in the 2023/24 season, costing them to drop off in the second half of the campaign and finish seventh on 60 points.
However, one standout performer was Anthony Gordon, and if Newcastle could add another player of this calibre to produce those numbers from the opposite side, it would give them a great chance of bouncing back next season.
Newcastle transfer news
According to reports from Football Insider, Newcastle are eyeing a new right wing signing, with West Ham star Jarrod Bowen among their top targets after missing out on Michael Olise.
Newcastle want to bolster their squad in several areas according to these reports, with right wing, centre-back, goalkeeper, and centre-forward all areas of interest.
Bowen is coming off the back of an excellent campaign, scoring 20 goals in all competitions, his best tally since joining West Ham back in 2020.
How Bowen compares to Gordon
To start to compare the two, we first have to look at their respective seasons. As previously mentioned, Bowen netted 20 goals in all competitions for West Ham in the 2023/24 campaign, also providing ten assists, and making 44 appearances for the Hammers.
Meanwhile, Gordon scored 12 goals for Newcastle in all competitions, providing 11 assists and making 48 appearances overall. 37 of Gordon’s appearances came from the left wing, whilst seven came from down the middle, and three came from the right-hand side.
From their G/A numbers, you can instantly assume Bowen is a more prolific goalscorer, and the stats line up with this assumption. Bowen scores 0.43 non-penalty goals per 90, whilst taking 2.6 shots per 90, and having 1.08 shots on target per 90.
Gordon has only scored 0.27 non-penalty goals per 90, took 2.33 shots per 90, and got 0.84 shots on target per 90. This shows the West Ham man is a higher-volume shooter and gets himself into areas to score goals slightly more often than Gordon.
However, where the 23-year-old Newcastle winger falls behind in goal scoring and shooting metrics, he eclipses Bowen’s creative numbers. Gordon makes 4.17 shot creating actions per 90, gets 0.27 assists per 90, and has an xAG (expected assisted goals) of 0.23.
Bowen, in comparison, only creates 2.77 shot-creating actions per 90, gets 0.25 assists per 90, and has an xAG of 0.16. The 27-year-olds passing numbers aren’t the best, but this could be subject to playing a more direct style of football under David Moyes at West Ham, and having to play several games as a striker due to Michail Antonio’s absence this season.
It makes a lot of sense as to why Newcastle would want to add the firepower of the “unbelievable” Bowen on their right side, giving them a goal-scoring threat on both wings, players who can create chances, but also two widemen who work extremely hard for their side, a big feature of Eddie Howe’s at Newcastle.
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