Eddie Howe will not play anyone not 100% committed to Newcastle United

There has been an awful lot of transfer speculation surrounding some of Newcastle United's most high-profile players of late.

The stories seem to move in cycles. First, it was Tino Livramento and a potential move to Manchester City, which coincided with the full-back putting contract talks with Newcastle on hold until the end of the season.

That was followed by Sandro Tonali rumours on deadline day of the January window, which were then exacerbated by comments made by his agent.

Now, there's speculation that Anthony Gordon could be on the move in the summer, which was made prominent yesterday by an article in The Telegraph that has been taken out of context.

It's an unsettling backdrop for the club and can't be helpful for the players either, and in his press conference on Friday, Eddie Howe was asked, particularly about Anthony Gordon, whether he's spoken to him about his future. 

Eddie Howe demands 100% commitment

Howe made a point that he doesn't tend to address transfer speculation with his players unless it has got to a point where he feels he has to, and he just expects his players to give 100% to the club while they're here, or they don't play.

“I discuss things with players all the time. I don’t discuss transfer speculation unless it gets to a point I have to. 

"After I had the chat with Sandro, the biggest thing I look for is the commitment to training. If I see the commitment to training ground work, the player will perform. That will be the same with Anthony, that will be the same with every player.

"I will not play any player I don’t think is 100% committed to the club. I’m not talking about Anthony there, I am talking across the board.”

Saturday's starting XI is going to be interesting

Those quotes now leave Eddie Howe's team selections wide open to speculation and analysis.

Should Anthony Gordon not be involved on Saturday, we can all assume, rightly or wrongly, that it's an indication of where his future lies.

It's obviously not definitive; there could be a multitude of reasons he doesn't play, and similarly, just because he does play, it doesn't mean he'll stay, but in a world where facts barely matter, Saturday's team selection is going to be huge.