Rafa Benitez: Anthony Gordon was learning Spanish with my Everton coaches – he must adapt quickly to succeed at Barcelona

Anthony Gordon will succeed at Barcelona if he can perform more consistently.

That is according to his former Everton manager Rafa Benitez after the England winger joined the LaLiga champions.

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Gordon has signed a five-year deal at the Nou Camp following a £70million move from Newcastle United.

However, his performances at the World Cup have divided opinions in Spain ahead of his arrival.

Fans had been excited by the deal following Gordon’s official unveiling prior to the tournament.

The 25-year-old impressed those in attendance by speaking in both Spanish and Catalan.

Benitez has now revealed Gordon was learning Spanish during their time together at Everton.

He made 18 appearances for the Toffees during Benitez’s tenure up until his sacking in January 2022.

Across those outings, Gordon scored twice and provided two assists.

Benitez joined White & Jordan on Tuesday and was asked about his former player’s recent transfer.

The Spaniard explained: “Anthony Gordon was in Everton and we promoted him a lot. So then I can say, yes I am happy because he has gone (to Barcelona).

“I don’t talk about prices because football is crazy now with the prices.

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“In terms of the potential of Anthony, I think Anthony talks very good Spanish. He was learning Spanish, he was talking with us, with my staff and after in Newcastle also with the staff.

“So I think he has an advantage and you can see the first game he didn’t do well but the last game he was doing much better with England. He has pace, he can score goals.”

Gordon went on to leave Everton for Newcastle in January 2023 before scoring 39 goals and adding 28 assists in 152 appearances for the club.

Meanwhile, he has three assists in four matches for England at the World Cup, including setting up both goals in their last 32 win over DR Congo.

As for whether Gordon can be a success in Spain, Benitez continued: “I think at this time, this period, I don’t know in the last few months, his mentality was more of a hard worker and he had the talent, he had the ability.

“We had a game after the training sessions to finish and who was the best and normally it was Richarlison and him, always he was there with Richarlison.

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“So it means he can finish, he can score goals, he has pace, what he has to be is more consistent.

“If he can do that, he can play in Barcelona because the only problem that I can see with Barcelona is that Barcelona will always have possession and then maybe he will have too much space.

“So he has to adapt quickly to these shorter spaces where you have to make the difference.”

Benitez himself is currently without a club, having left Greek side Panathinaikos in May.

The 66-year-old has also revealed he is eyeing a return to the Premier League following his exit.

He has previously had spells in charge of Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Everton during his managerial career.