Gordon was close to a big-money move to Chelsea in the summer but Rafa had concerns over the forward's 'menatlity' at Everton. EFC CFC
“We played a friendly in Miami in pre-season and after 50 minutes, he couldn’t run,” Benitez told“We knew he was a player with quality on the ball, could finish, pass and had pace. But he couldn’t run. We had a conversation with him after the game. It was hot, but he’s a young player.
“We spent time with him, but the main thing was to change his mentality and he was very keen to do it. He worked really hard, he improved his stamina and he got better and better because he had the potential. Benitez went on to explain how he felt he was hamstrung at Everton due to his time with Merseyside rivals Liverpool.
“I had a meeting with a head of one of the departments and I asked him ‘do you think everything is fine?’ He said ‘yeah, everything is perfect.’ I thought ‘£600m had been spent, it cannot be perfect when the owners aren’t happy and the fans are not happy.’