Gordon flicked in a 39th-minute Jarell Quansah cross on Saturday for his fourth goal in four England games. England ran out 7-0 winners in Rijeka to extend their grip on their Nations League group, the Football Association confirmed in its match report.

Harry Kane scored twice, Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers added one apiece and Bukayo Saka got a brace at the Stadion HNK Rijeka. The game was played behind closed doors as part of a UEFA sanction against Croatia, with the hosts never close to containing a front line Thomas Tuchel has built around pace in wide areas.

The reinvention is barely four months old. Barcelona agreed a deal worth up to €80m with Newcastle in late May, paying an initial €70m plus €10m in add-ons and inserting a sell-on clause on top. The 25-year-old signed a five-year contract.

Hansi Flick’s side has had no settling-in problem to deal with. Gordon laid on four assists in his first four La Liga appearances, matching his entire Premier League return from his final Newcastle season.

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‘I was never fully respected’

Speaking to ITV, Gordon said the Premier League never valued the parts of his game he cares about most.

“I don’t think I was ever fully respected in England. People just see me as someone who’s very fast and very aggressive, whereas in Spain they really appreciate my intelligence and my quality,” he told the broadcaster.

“At Barcelona, if you’re not skilful or intelligent, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb straight away.”

“I felt I had more to offer than people thought I did, and I wanted to prove it on the world’s biggest stage. Going abroad was very important to me.”

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From dropped at the World Cup to Tuchel starter

For most of the Tuchel era Gordon was not a lock. Analysis by Squawka, cited by Sports Mole, notes that he has now been directly involved in nine goals across his last seven England appearances, numbers that were unthinkable earlier in the cycle when he was in and out of the squad.

Tuchel, whose contract was extended through to Euro 2028, has made Gordon part of a left-sided pairing with Lewis Hall and leaned on the Barcelona winger as a chance creator and finisher.

England return to action in November, when they host Croatia at Wembley on 12 November and then travel to Spain on 15 November to close the Nations League group.

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