Gordon raises theory over England drop-outs and makes Ballon d'Or claim

Anthony Gordon says England’s core of Premier League footballers has to deal with more physical intensity than their international counterparts. There have been a handful of drop-outs from Thomas Tuchel’s latest squad and there have long been questions over whether England players are on the verge of burnout when they head to summer tournaments.

And Gordon, now playing for Barcelona in La Liga, reckons there are special demands on those playing their trade in the Premier League. He said: “In England, every game is as hard as the next.

“Playing Arsenal is the same as playing a newly promoted side. That’s the difficulty of the Premier League. Every game is so intense. Everyone can win a game.

“Hull were unbeaten until they played Newcastle. I think for the English players playing in the Premier League, it can be a lot tougher on the body than it can be playing elsewhere.”

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Harry Kane certainly seems to have benefited from what many see as the less strenuous demands of the Bundesliga and is a hot favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this year. Gordon sees it as a straight fight between the England captain and Lamine Yamal, his team-mate at Barcelona.

But the 25-year-old former Newcastle and Everton attacker has his eyes on eventually claiming the sport’s most prestigious individual prize. Gordon said: “Absolutely. I’ve always dreamt of that since I was a kid. I’ve never had a limit on what I can do in life.

“I understand that the people who are there at some point were not there. Everyone is on their own journey to get there. I believe anyone can achieve anything if they put their mind to it.

“They just need a lot of luck. They need a lot of things to go their way. I’m trying to do everything I can to be the best player I can be. And hopefully I get a lot of luck and then we’ll see.”

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And Gordon is probably chronicling his ambitions in the diary he keeps. “I like to write things down,” he explained. “It always makes it more clear. I always write things down. I kind of like it because in years to come I can look back on it and pass it on to my kids.”

And the most difficult entry he had to write came after the World Cup semi-final defeat in the summer. Gordon put England ahead but was then substituted and watched his team-mates surrender the lead in the last few minutes.

He said: “I did not know what to write. I wrote down just pure emotion. It was a good few pages, I will tell you that.”