Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has strongly suggested, for the second consecutive week, that Anthony Gordon could leave the club this summer amid growing transfer speculation.

Gordon has not featured in recent matches despite returning to fitness, with interest from Bayern Munich and other European sides continuing to grow, and a transfer to the Bundesliga champions nothing but pretty much lined up.

“When you get to this stage of the season, part of what we will be doing is looking to next year, naturally,” Howe said on Friday. “Anthony’s just come back from injury. I think the team has played well in his absence and with a partial view to the future, yes.”

Howe declined to confirm any active negotiations with Bayern or anybody else, but acknowledged the situation involving the England international.

“These are discussions that potentially might be happening, but not with me,” Howe said.

Gordon’s absence, combined with Howe’s comments, points toward a likely summer departure if a deal is agreed with Bayern, which seems to be the only thing preventing an early transfer announcement.

The latest reports already talk about Gordon having a personal agreement in place with the Bavarians, with the final pending detail to be solved being the transfer fee to be agreed upon by both clubs before sanctioning the sale once the summer transfer window opens mid-June.