Elliot Anderson Needed To Leave Newcastle United But Should Return

With the World Cup now just nine months away and England’s place assured after its 5-0 win over Latvia on Monday night, it looks as though Newcastle United will have a heavy presence in Thomas Tuchel’s team next summer.

Anthony Gordon is currently the first choice at left-wing, while Dan Burn has been selected for every squad since making his debut back in March. Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall would also likely be involved if it weren’t for injury. Eddie Howe’s team has become one of the most exciting in Europe, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed that there is a strong English core involved.

For much of the last 15 years, not many Newcastle players have played for England, but thanks to Howe, there is genuine evidence that joining the club can be a route into the picture. One curious case, though, is that of Elliot Anderson; the Nottingham Forest midfielder has emerged as a strong contender to start as Tuchel’s “number six” in North America, and his form in general over the past 18 months or so has led to a lot of debate and discussion at Newcastle.

Anderson is a product of the club’s youth academy, and a rare example of someone who has developed into a player genuinely good enough for the first team. In the summer of 2024, he was sold to Forest as Newcastle infamously scrambled to avoid breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules and a potential points deduction, and he has gone from strength to strength at the City Ground ever since.

Everybody at Newcastle knew how good a player Anderson was and could be, and nobody wanted to see him leave under any circumstances, especially not as it happened. Before the 2-0 victory over Anderson and Forest a couple of weeks ago, Howe admitted he would welcome the 22-year-old back to St James’ Park in the future if he could.

“Certainly from my perspective I would love him too,” Howe said. “I’m very respectful of the fact he is at another football club and I would never normally talk about a player in that way, so, I won’t change that stance but it is very regretful a player from the academy who had given so much, and the club had given so much too, the coaching staff, all those years here and how people tried to develop those talents, for him not to be utilised here is a real shame.”

Howe added: “We knew that [Anderson was a bargain for Forest]. We knew that the minute it was going to happen, and likely to happen, that we were massively selling him a big discount.”

But Anderson is where he is, chiefly, because of his development at Forest. He needed this move to play the matches to fulfil his potential, with the likes of Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali ahead of him in the pecking order. The position he has played and tactical flexibility he has shown, primarily under former Forest coach Nuno Espririto Santo, who first deployed him in a deeper midfield role, had a huge impact.

At Newcastle, Anderson’s versatility was both a blessing and a curse. Because of the competition in his preferred position, he would often come off the bench or start on the left, but with Gordon there, opportunities were scarce. He has really benefitted from the consistency in both minutes on the pitch and his position, which is why he probably needed to leave Newcastle, as difficult as it is to admit.

Anderson himself has said as much.

“It was sort of a tough move at the time, but I think ultimately I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now if I didn’t make the move,” he explained.

“I think sometimes you’ve got to step out of your comfort zone and believe in yourself, which is sort of what I’ve done.

“I believed I was ready to go and play in the Premier League every week. I don’t think I would be in this position now if I didn’t do it.”

Newcastle United needed to sell Elliot Anderson, but could he return?

Many Newcastle supporters believe that it was a mistake to sell Anderson, but that isn’t the case. While he needed to develop in ways that weren’t possible, his exit was more palatable than the alternative, with Gordon and Alexander Isak, who has since joined Liverpool, also linked with exits at the time.

There is no buy-back in his contract and a return to Newcastle is not close for Anderson. If he does leave Forest, and that is far from guaranteed, he will cost a huge sum of money and there will undoubtedly be other top clubs interested in him.

Few match the profile of a ‘Howe player’ quite as much as Anderson, though. He is strong, powerful, energetic, creative and versatile. The irony is that since his exit, Newcastle has lacked somebody who can come off the bench or into the team and offer something different, and that is why he would fit seamlessly back into the team.

Unlike before, when he was so far behind the other options at Howe’s disposal, he would now be equal and a potential contingency as Tonali’s contract enters a crucial point, and Joelinton gets closer to 30.

As painful as it was to see Anderson leave Newcastle United, and as difficult as it is to see him thrive away from the club now, it needed to happen. If he doesn’t play for the club again, it will lead to a sense of unfinished business, but his England exploits further prove Howe’s impact on making Newcastle a hotbed for English talent.