Liverpool were willing to spend £75m on Anthony Gordon - but form of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz shows signing Newcastle star would have been a waste

Gordon is undoubtedly a talented player. He proved that last season, earning himself a place in Gareth Southgate's stellar England squad for Euro 2024 ahead of the likes of Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford by hitting double figures for both goals (11) and assists (10) in the Premier League for the first time in his career.

Consequently, he arrived in Germany brimming with belief. "I’m an absolute nightmare for anyone I play against," he declared. "I'm always trying to put people on the back foot and I think [my direct style] brings a sense of unpredictability. I know how hard I am to play against, I can feel it, I know they don't like playing against me and I’m going to carry on doing it."

However, despite calls from the likes of Wayne Rooney and Michah Richards for Gordon to be brought into the starting line-up at the Euros, he saw just one minute of game time, with Southgate reportedly feeling that the winger had been distracted by Liverpool's interest in signing him.

Gordon may have come through Everton's youth sector, but he was a childhood Liverpool fan who idolised Kop idol Steven Gerrard growing up. Consequently, the prospect of moving to Anfield unquestionably excited Gordon, and it was claimed that he'd even lined up a medical for himself while still at the Euros.

However, while talks over a player-plus-cash deal were so advanced that the terms of payment were even discussed, Newcastle pulled out of the trade after managing to resolving the Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) problems that had brought them to the negotiating table in the first place by selling youngsters Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Nottingham Forest, respectively.

Gordon has arguably yet to recover from the twin-blow of being effectively snubbed by Southgate in Germany while at the same time seeing his dream return to Merseyside fail to materialise. Despite being given a lucrative new contract in October, Gordon has cut a frustrated figure for the majority of the season so far, and been directly involved in just three goals in 15 appearances in all competitions for Newcastle.

By complete contrast, Liverpool's wingers are flying right now.

Liverpool's interest in Gordon puzzled many pundits, given they already had, in Luis Diaz, a far superior player in the England international's player preferred position. The presumption was that the Reds were considering cashing in on the Colombian, who had long been linked to a move to Spain - sometimes even by his father.

It's not clear if Newcastle's U-turn on selling Gordon directly affected Diaz's situation at Anfield, but what we do know is that the former Porto winger is now playing better than ever before.

The 27-year-old had been excellent since signing for Liverpool in January 2022, an incredibly positive attacking force who had quickly established himself as the most dangerous dribbler at the club. The one source of frustration was his finishing, which was often erratic.

This season, though, Diaz has added goals to his game (he's already got nine in 19 appearances, meaning he's well on course to surpass last year's tally of 13), which is why we're now seeing him sometimes deployed as a false nine - and there are two reasons for that development.

Firstly, Darwin Nunez is still struggling to score and Diogo Jota is struggling to stay fit, meaning Liverpool are lacking a more orthodox striker to lead the line. Secondly, and far more significantly, playing the increasingly effective Diaz through the middle creates space for Cody Gakpo out wide.

It's been obvious since Gakpo's arrival on Merseyside that he was a multi-talented forward capable of not only scoring goals but creating them for others. At times, he really did look like Roberto Firmino's heir; the profile may have been different, but the potential was definitely there to tie the attack together in a similar fashion.

However, it started to become clear during the tail end of last season that Gakpo's best position was out wide - and putting him there regularly has paid off spectacularly for Arne Slot. Gakpo is a confident, constant threat on the left flank. He stands up tall, he takes on full-backs and, most importantly of all, he's got an end product.

Going into Wednesday's game at Newcastle, Gakpo, arguably the biggest beneficiary of the breakdown of the Gordon deal, has scored eight goals this season, with his latest strike coming in Sunday's crucial 2-0 win over Manchester City.

The impressive victory over the reigning Premier League champions, which put Liverpool nine points clear at the top of the table, was also notable for the fact that Gomez - who could easily have been lining up against Slot's side at St. James' Park - slotted seamlessly back into the defence to fill the void left by the injured Ibrahima Konate.

Gomez went into the season as fourth-choice centre-back, having fallen behind not only the Frenchman, but also Jarell Quansah last season. However, the 27-year-old had a flawless game alongside Virgil van Dijk, looking completely untroubled by Erling Haaland & Co., and his performance only served to underline the importance of having such a reliable, versatile and professional defender always ready to step up to the mark when called upon.

As Slot said, "For him to keep doing this probably tells you a lot about his mentality, but also what he does on a daily basis in training sessions and at home to stay as fit as he is, because he’s incredibly fit and always ready to perform. That is more special than people think."

Hindsight is, of course, 20-20 and there's no knowing how Liverpool would be faring right now if they had managed to get Gordon. Certainly, the man himself would probably be a whole lot happier and playing a whole lot better if he'd managed to move back to Merseyside.

There's also no denying that Gordon is a different kind of winger to Diaz and Gakpo - he gets far more crosses into the box, for starters. He's completed 23 already this season; Diaz and Gakpo have just seven successful crosses between them. In that sense, it's easy to understand Liverpool's interest; he would have varied their attacking threat.

However, effectively handing over £30m ($38m) and Gomez would have clearly been far too high a price to pay for Gordon with Gakpo and Diaz - not to mention Ballon d'Or front-runner Mohamed Salah - already at the club.

Liverpool clearly believe Gordon is a player of world-class potential and he'll obviously be a big threat to their hopes of victory on Wednesday, but he's far from the finished article. The Reds are right to rate him, but the Premier League and Champions League leaders definitely didn't need him.