Newcastle United’s move to sign winger Anthony Gordon isn’t as close as reports make out, according to journalist Jordan Cronin.

The Lowdown: Gordon on the move?

Gordon has been hot property since propelling into the Premier League spotlight with gamechanging performances for Everton as they survived relegation, with broadcaster Mike Parry dubbing him "magic" last season.

The 21-year-old was prominently linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer, with the Blues even willing to pay a fee of £60m to bring him to west London, but a deal never came to fruition (via Sky Sports).

A move to the Magpies now looks on the cards, with The Guardian reporting that Gordon has missed training amid talks of a move to the north-east.

The Latest: Cronin’s update

Speaking on the Loaded Mag NUFC YouTube channel, Newcastle World's Cronin claimed the reported deal for Gordon isn’t as close as many have been led to believe, with a big stumbling block still to agree on.

He said: “There's a lot of places reporting that the deal is close, but from my understanding, I'll explain why I don't think the deal is close.

“It's quite clear the player wants to come to Newcastle.

“The problem at the minute is that the valuation between the two clubs, the price tag, it's still a little bit apart. I think Everton are pinning their negotiations on the fact that Chelsea valued the player at £60m in the summer. Newcastle won’t do a deal for Anthony Gordon at £60m, unfortunately.

“They're the team showing the most interest at the moment. So you can look at it and you could probably say, yeah, maybe it is close because the player’s really keen to come, but I don't define 'close' off that.

“I define it on how close the clubs are in terms of agreeing a price tag, and at the moment, they haven't done that."

The Verdict: Matter of time?

Newcastle may well play the long game on this deal, with Gordon’s public desire to leave Everton potentially giving the Toon the upper hand in their pursuit amid the Toffees' dire situation of battling relegation and having no manager currently at the helm.

However, the addition of Gordon to a Toon frontline that has found goals hard to come by of late with only five scored in their previous seven games doesn’t look to be the answer, with the forward in the bottom 36% of players in his position within Europe's top competitions for goals and in the bottom 1% for assists (via FBref).

His stats don’t bode well for any impact he could make at St James’ Park, but playing away from the shackles of a dire Everton side could see him explode with newfound confidence and freedom, so perhaps it could yet work out if the sides can come to an agreement in the coming days.