Barcelona bid €80m + bonuses for Anthony Gordon - David Ornstein

Barcelona has stepped up its pursuit of Anthony Gordon with a bid, according to a new report.

On Wednesday morning, it was being reported that Barcelona were in club-to-club talks with Newcastle United over a move for Anthony Gordon, who was keen on a move to Spain.

After Bayern Munich held firm on their valuation of Gordon, those talks seemed to have hit a wall, and while Barcelona are still not ready to meet Newcastle's asking price, they are getting nearer.

Newcastle want £80 million, and reports this morning suggested that Barcelona were willing to offer a deal that would see the price rise to that figure.

Barcelona have bid £69.3m plus add-ons

The Athletic's David Ornstein, who is usually a pretty reliable source for transfer rumours, has reported that Barcelona have now made a bid for Gordon following the talks.

The bid is reported to be €80 million (£69.3m) plus add-ons, but there's no indication in the report what those add-ons are or what the eventual total could be.

Barca coach Hansi Flick sees Gordon as filling the role Marcus Rashford held this season during his loan spell from Manchester United, which indicates that they are unlikely to exercise their option to buy Rashford for £30 million, which expires on 15th June.

Could Barcelona's bid prompt others to show their hand?

Now that Barcelona has shown they are willing to go over the £70 million mark, that may give Bayern Munich a bump to get involved and make a similar bid.

Liverpool is reportedly still watching on with interest and could still get involved, but it's starting to look like things may actually move pretty quickly with this, which is what we wanted.

As long as the add-on package takes the eventual fee somewhere close to the £80 million Newcastle is asking for, we say just get it accepted and get him out of the club. The sooner we get the deal done and move on the better for everyone.