On his LaLiga debut, Anthony Gordon had the chance to shoot and squared it instead. Fermín López finished for 0-4, and the two celebrated it together. Afterwards the Anthony Gordon Barcelona No 9 question was put to him — could he take the centre-forward role this season? The answer was as unbothered as the pass had been.
“Yeah of course, I played there last year a lot. I played really well I thought,” he told ESPN, in comments carried by Barça Blaugranes. “I have got different strengths to a typical No. 9. I can come and go and link play. I can do it. I like to play there.”
Which matters. With the window closing and no recognised centre-forward at the club, the answer to Barça’s biggest question may already be in the building.
Making the Anthony Gordon Barcelona No 9 case, in his own words
Gordon came off the bench in Sunday’s 5-0 win at Elche — his LaLiga debut — and produced two assists in what Barça Blaugranes called a bright cameo, setting up Raphinha and then Fermín. Two goals created off the bench is a hard way to be ignored.
The Fermín assist was the moment that told you most about him. On the decision to square it rather than shoot, the England international did not dress it up. “I think it’s the right decision,” he said. “If Fermín had the ball and I was in his position I would want him to pass, I think it’s the correct football decision. We’re a team, it’s not about me scoring.”
The profile Gordon describes — coming short, linking, arriving rather than occupying — is not a Robert Lewandowski impression, and he is not pretending otherwise. It is much closer to what Raphinha did as a false nine at the Martínez Valero, a role Barça Universal note the Brazilian knows well, and to how Hansi Flick’s front line has actually been scoring its goals.
‘The perfect start’
Speaking to the club’s own media, in comments published in Spanish by Mundo Deportivo, the 25-year-old was even happier with the collective than with himself.
“It was a top performance, the perfect start. Five goals scored and none conceded. I’m very happy,” he said. “I think we played some beautiful football and scored good goals. The defenders also made excellent last-ditch tackles and blocks. Overall, extremely good.”
On life in Catalonia, having arrived from Newcastle United for €70 million plus €10m in add-ons, he sounded settled. “I’ve felt very good since I arrived. I’ve said it already — my team-mates have made me feel very welcome and I already feel at home. The city is incredible, the people are very friendly, and I think I’ll keep improving day by day.”
He also handed credit sideways, to fellow debutant Karim Adeyemi. “I want to congratulate Karim. He had a great game, he scored his first goal and he worked very hard defensively to close down the transitions. I’m very happy for him.” Mundo Deportivo‘s verdict on the pair was that both signings delivered an immediate return — quality, pace, defensive commitment and a direct hand in the scoreline.
What it means for Flick’s week
None of this ends the striker search. Barça Universal report that Flick and Deco both still want a No 9, a stance neither has moved from, and Flick’s own line after the game was that “we’ll have to talk to Deco and we have to do whatever’s best; that will be next week”.
But it reframes the deadline. If Gordon can genuinely play through the middle — and he has now volunteered for it publicly, having said after the Joan Gamper Trophy that he was already familiar with the manager’s philosophy — then Barça are shopping from a position of comfort rather than need.
Athletic Club visit the Spotify Camp Nou at 21:00 on Thursday 27 August in the rearranged Matchday 1, and Flick will pick from a front line that has just scored five without a centre-forward. Whether the man who passed up the chance gets to lead it is now a live question — and Gordon, at least, has made his position clear.
