Chelsea target Anthony Gordon was axed by Liverpool aged 11 but army camp and chimp book made him £50m Everton star
ANTHONY GORDON has come a long way from Kirkdale, where he refined his shooting in his parent’s garden.
The Everton starlet, 21, is a transfer target for Chelsea – who are not giving up on signing the youngster after having a £45million bid rejected.
Growing up, the forward would practice striking the ball through a tyre hanging from a goal to improve his accuracy – a coaching method encouraged by his father, Keith.
While the Covid outbreak would become the making of Gordon, who used the time off to bulk up his skinny frame with the help of a personal trainer pal in what he called an “army camp”.
His exemplary, hard-working attitude and body transformation impressed then-boss Carlo Ancelotti, who handed him his Premier League debut and first start for the club.
But, it could have been fierce rivals Liverpool who moulded the kid tipped as ‘England’s next hope’.
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Released at 11
Every footballer suffers heartbreak during their career. For Gordon it came early.
When he was just 11, Liverpool decided that he wasn’t good enough to make the grade.
He admittedly suffered mentally because of the rejection. However, Everton offered him some solace.
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“It was another chance for me to grow. But that was hard,” he told the club’s website.
“It affected me mentally and dented my confidence. I had to pick myself up and go again.
“When I got to Everton, I never looked back.”
Tyres for goalposts
Alongside his professional training, Gordon would constantly train at home and in his local park with his dad, who had a unique method in improving his son’s shooting.
Keith Gordon would hang a tyre from the goal frame – just so Anthony could hit “top bins” more regularly.
“We’d practice in the park or garden, he had to keep buying new goals because I broke a few,” he revealed.
“He set up challenges for me from when I was about five and took me to all my games. He got me started in football.
Body transformation
As a promising talent rising through the ranks, Gordon caught the eye of Ronaldo Koeman – who handed him his first team debut as a substitute in a Europa League match away at Apollon Limassol in 2017.
But, when the coronavirus halted the Premier League for three months during the 2019-20 season – the ambitious then-teenager hatched a plan to transform his body.
The skinny-framed 6ft beanpole he was became a shredded athlete that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the ring as a middleweight boxer.
That happened with the help of pal and personal trainer Callum Webb, who he moved into a flat with and got to work.
“It was like an army camp – we were up early and doing two or three sessions a day,” Gordon revealed.
“Callum, in my opinion, is one of the best in the city.
“I was lucky to have him there and he pushed me to my limits.
“My fitness levels went through the roof.”
Preferred reading
Around the same time, Gordon also buried his head in Steve Peters’ The Chimp Paradox book, which promotes a mind management programme that helps sports stars overcome their fears and perform with control, focus and confidence.
Peters is the same man who worked with snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan from 2011 and helped him fight his demons to continue to excel on the baize.
While British Olympic cyclists also benefitted from his teachings and methods.
The result; a new Gordon that wowed coach Ancelotti who said what makes the England U21 star different to other promising stars is his “character and personality”.
“I pride myself on how I carry myself off the pitch,” Gordon admitted.
“I am a firm believer that, regardless of whether someone is talented or rich, whatever you think you are, none of it really matters.
“All that matters is what kind of person you are.”
Professional debut
The hard work and determination Gordon showed encouraged Ancelotti to hand him his first start in the Premier League in 2020. Ironically, that came against the club that let him go – Liverpool.
A duel with England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold would have been one to behold.
However, mum Nadine and dad Keith were too wracked with nerves to be there.
“I found out at 4pm (three hours before kick-off) I was playing but from the beginning of the week it was in in my head I would be starting,” Gordon revealed.
“I wanted to be ready and mentally prepared.
“I was fine, there weren’t any nerves. I was ready to do my job.
“It was disappointing my mum and dad couldn’t be there but, to be honest, they are both nervous wrecks.
“When I got home my mum told me that at the start of the game, she had to go out the room, she couldn’t even watch it.
“They are both that nervous there’s no point them being there.”
What the future holds
For the moment, he’s an Everton player – one that manager Frank Lampard will be reluctant to lose, especially after Brazilian striker Richarlison left for Tottenham in the summer.
“I love working with him, love him as a player,” said Lampard.
“There are things he wants to improve and he can improve and that’s absolutely normal in terms of development. But what he’s doing for us at the minute, he’s an absolutely huge player.”
Thomas Tuchel, though, has identified him as a primary target this transfer window.
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A £45million bid has been rejected so far, but the Blues are reportedly set to return with an improved offer.
Should he make the move to West London, expect him to be clutching his trusted copy of The Chimp Paradox, as well as an attitude that belies his years.