‘That surprises me a lot…’: Man Utd must take heed of Shearer warning over Newcastle star they want to sign

Alan Shearer was surprised to see Anthony Gordon drop to the bench for Newcastle United’s crunch Champions League clash with Barcelona last night.The Magpies hosted Hansi Flick’s side at St. James’ Park for the first leg of their last-16 tie, with the second being held at Camp Nou next Wednesday.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL STRETTY NEWS APP FOR ALL THE LATEST UPDATES & BREAKING NEWS – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYWhy Gordon missed out for the first hour vs BarcelonaGordon, who’s been linked with Manchester United in recent weeks, could only make his impact off the bench in the latter stages of the game.It was confirmed prior to kick-off that the winger’s minutes would be limited due to illness, meaning he didn’t enter the fray until the 67th minute.Newcastle icon Shearer was perplexed by the situation, however, as he said on Amazon Prime’s live coverage (as relayed by United In Focus): “Maybe I’m old school, but if you’re fit enough to train in the morning, and I know he doesn’t feel well, but this is Barcelona at Newcastle for a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. “It would take something extraordinary to keep myself out of this game tonight. To come and say, ‘I might be able to give you half an hour at the end’, I don’t know, give us half an hour at the beginning, and if you’re feeling alright, you get through to half-time.“With his pace and his form in the Champions League, he’s going to be a huge miss, so that surprises me a lot.”The 25-year-old was on the field for Newcastle’s opener, which sent the Tyneside faithful into bedlam when Harvey Barnes found the back of the net in the 86th minute.That was until they were brought back down to earth in injury time, when a foul from Malick Thiaw on Dani Olmo resulted in the referee pointing to the spot. “It was soft but Malick makes contact” Eddie Howe on Barcelona’s penalty in the final minute of the game 😬 pic.twitter.com/KdVJxFvHbI — Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) March 10, 2026Lamine Yamal unsurprisingly converted the penalty, leaving the tie perfectly poised ahead of the second leg in Catalonia.United and Gordon: The state of playIt remains to be seen if United will materialise their interest in Gordon anytime soon.The forthcoming summer window will see them bid farewell to three forwards when on-loan Reds Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund sign for Barcelona and Napoli, respectively, on permanent deals, while Jadon Sancho will also be released upon the expiration of his contract in June.Gordon, a 16-capped England international, has scored 37 goals and contributed 28 assists in 148 Newcastle appearances following his £45 million move from Everton in January 2023. Club Appearances Goals Assists Newcastle 108 22 23 Everton 65 7 3 (Gordon’s Premier League record)