Anthony Gordon has had to adjust to a new training regime since joining Barcelona, with head coach Hansi Flick revealing the forward was caught off guard by the schedule compared to his time at Newcastle United.
Different Training Demands
Gordon moved to Barcelona in the summer in a £69million deal after three-and-a-half years at Newcastle. Flick noted that Gordon is no longer allowed a day off following a match, a change from his previous club.
"It's a little bit different I think for him, how we train because it's totally different than he expected I think," Flick told TNT Sports. "I think, because what he said is after the game, normally, they don't train in Newcastle, so it's totally different than here, but he's doing good. So I'm very happy about his quality, about his impact he has in our team, and no, he's a good guy."
Early Impact at Barcelona
The England international has scored three goals and provided five assists in his first 14 matches for the Catalan club, earning regular minutes alongside Lamine Yamal and Raphinha despite stiff competition.
Gordon has spoken about the step up since joining, telling Sport: "At Everton, I was fighting relegation for two or three years, which was tough. At Newcastle, we were fighting for maybe the Champions League and to push up the table. And now I'm fighting with Barca for every trophy."
Chasing Trophies and Accolades
The former Everton star is pleased to be competing for trophies in a season where Newcastle are struggling, having also lost Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. He has ambitions of challenging for individual accolades after seeing England captain Harry Kane take top honours at the Ballon d'Or.
"Yeah, I think the same with H [Kane], he was at Spurs for a long time and he had an unbelievable Premier League career, but because Spurs didn't win any trophies, it maybe didn't put him in, you know, that, that top, top bracket that he's in now," Gordon said. "I think his move to Bayern Munich has put him on another level because he's been able to add trophies. He gets to show his ability on the highest stages in the later rounds of the Champions League and that's what these clubs do."
"That's why I've always dreamed of playing for this club, because everybody watches Barcelona, we get to fight on every front for the biggest trophies, and when you perform in the biggest games. That's when the accolades and everything you want comes true."
