Sport

Letting go of Elliot Anderson : One of Newcastle’s biggest mistakes to date

When Newcastle United sold Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2024,they were desperate. They were hours away from a likely Premier League points deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules, and had little choice but to accept a £35m deal for an academy product.

Everybody within the club was far from happy at Anderson’s departure. But having also sold young winger Yankuba Minteh to Brighton, they had managed to avoid the breach and a sale of a senior, first team asset, amid reported interest in the likes of Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak at the time.

Seeing how Anderson has developed at Forest since, though, becoming a likely starter for England at the World Cup next summer and garnering interest from the Premier League elite, there must be a sense of regret on Tyneside. Given that Newcastle also won a first domestic trophy in 70 years and qualified for the Champions League without him, that regret may have been reciprocated by Anderson, too.

It feels inevitable that the midfielder will move away from the City Ground this summer. Manchester City and Manchester United are both extremely interested; Newcastle may enter the race, especially if Sandro Tonali leaves St James’ Park this summer, though with European football unlikely for next season, affordability may be an issue. Forest have previously quoted £100m for his services, and are likely to receive at least £70m.

It would be easy to look back at Anderson’s exit as a mistake on Newcastle’s part, but that would be over simplistic. In reality, the move has been the catalyst for his improvement, opening up a world of possibilities in his career even he wouldn’t have thought possible, as he said himself.

“It was a tough move at the time but ultimately, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now if I didn’t make the move,” Anderson said after his first England call up in September last year.

“Sometimes you’ve got to step out of your comfort zone and believe in yourself, which is what I’ve done. I believed I was ready to go and play in the Premier League every week, and I don’t think I would be in this position now if I didn’t do it.”

So, did Newcastle not appreciate his full talent? That would be a harsh assessment. Forest deserve immense credit for not only giving Anderson game time with which to thrive, but also for redefining his role in the midfield. Under Eddie Howe, he was known as a creative force, able to play centrally and out wide; because Tonali, Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes were ahead of him in the pecking order, minutes were scarce and he only got opportunities on the left when Gordon and Harvey Barnes weren’t selected.

Nuno Espirito Santo deployed him in a deeper role which he has now excelled at for both club and country. Ironically, he has become the perfect profile to thrive under Eddie Howe at Newcastle, strong, technical, energetic and tenacious. But it is probably too late for that.

If City’s scouts weren’t already purring as they search for a long-term successor to Rodri, they will have sat up and taken extra notice when he scored at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening. United, too, will be readying a move after a weak and imbalanced central area was overrun by 10 men in defeat at Newcastle.

From the outside, Anderson may look like the one who got away from Newcastle. They certainly are not enjoying watching his rise in the last 18 months, knowing what could have been.

But it is his work, and Forest’s, which rightly put him in the frame to be a definitive protagonist for both England’s World Cup hopes and the summer transfer window.