Newcastle have added security surrounding the future of Anthony Gordon with his contract set to expire in 2030.
Reports have suggested Arsenal will target the Newcastle forward in the summer transfer window and hope to sign Gordon for £75m.
The 25-year-old was said to have just two years remaining on his current contract at the club but Your Site News can exclusively reveal that deal will run until 2030, when Gordon will be 29.
Gordon signed a long-term extension at Newcastle in October 2024 and has four years remaining on that deal.
Speaking ahead of Newcastle's game against Everton on Saturday, Howe was asked about the speculation surrounding Gordon and whether it would be distracting for him, where he said: "Only if you read it [distracting for Gordon].
"As always in this age, there is always rumour and speculation.
"I don't see 90 per cent of it. It comes with the territory of being a top player and you have to put it out of your brain to focus on football.
"There is no time for distractions."
Howe was then asked about how the club avoid another transfer saga such as the one prompted by Alexander Isak's move to Liverpool last summer.
Howe added: "There is not a lot I can do about that. It's news to me but we're midseason and in the middle of some of the biggest games of his career.
"He has no time to look left or right and has to be fully focused on ahead.
"He has been in a good place."
Gordon has previously commented on transfer rumours earlier in February and admitted it has distracted him in the past.
"I am focused on me and focused on the team, I am focused on right now," he said.
"You look too far in the future and you start to underperform. And believe me, I have done that (before) and I am not going to do that now."
Your Site' Laura Hunter:
This curious interest in Anthony Gordon is strangely timed from an Arsenal perspective. What does a player like Gordon, with one Premier League goal from open play all season, actually offer Mikel Arteta that is different from what he's already got?
Perhaps it's versatility, with the option to use him through the middle as a false 9 as well as out wide. But £75m is a big price to pay for a utility player that has proved to be less clinical in the league than most of the Gunners' current attacking options. Does he make the starting XI if everyone is fit? Not sure he does.
If Gordon's so-called 'rich vein of form' relates to the four goals he scored against Qarabag, that hardly makes him £75m worthy - miraculously, he still underperformed against his xG on target in that game.
And that's the issue, really; Gordon is not a reliable source of goals and never has been. In terms of creation, he's got as many Premier League assists as Dan Burn this year.
He's contributed a lot more in cup competitions so far this term, but almost always against lesser opposition. The latter rounds of the Champions League will be a good test of his mettle when up against some of Europe's best defenders - and his injury record is not great either.
His consistency needs to be better to play for the Premier League's elite teams, particularly a squad as stacked as Arsenal's, and evidence suggests the Everton graduate remains a few percentiles short.
If Merseyside rivals Liverpool come knocking, that might offer a better chance of long-term success. Arne Slot's side are short of a left-sided creative, someone with the profile of Luis Diaz, who can re-energise their attack with some pace. But again, is Gordon really at that level now?
