Would Elliot Anderson be the player he is today if he was still a Newcastle United player fighting for game time in our midfield? Probably not.
Does it hurt seeing the ‘Geordie Maradona’ become an England star for Nottingham Forest after spending all of his earlier career developing on Tyneside? Absolutely, yes.
As we eye up a long-term replacement for Joelinton, Anderson’s name has cropped up in recent conversations, leaving some hopeful that the 23-year-old will soon return to his boyhood club.
However, it now looks increasingly unlikely that he’ll be back at Newcastle anytime soon, as a new report explains…
According to The Mail’s Craig Hope, Newcastle United have been dealt a double blow in their attempts to re-sign Elliot Anderson.
He reports that Newcastle have not only been priced out of a deal due to Nottingham Forest’s £80-100m demands, but have also seen Manchester City move into pole position for the England star.
Anderson is said to be highly admired by both Pep Guardiola and City’s new sporting director Hugo Viana, with the title contenders sending scouts to recent Forest games.
Reports earlier this week hinted that Forest would decline all approaches to sign Anderson in January, but any fee around the £100m mark is ‘beyond Newcastle’s current scope’ from a PSR perspective.
A move at this price would make Anderson the most expensive signing in the club’s history, just 18 months after he was reluctantly sold for £15m in a PSR-driven sale. And despite the money generated from the sales of Alexander Isak, Sean Longstaff and Lloyd Kelly this past summer, it’s easy to see why a £100m deal is beyond our means at this stage.
In some ways, Anderson would have been perfect in the eyes of the PIF and Howe, as he’s still young, has such a high ceiling, ticks homegrown quota boxes and offers versatility in midfield.
But if not Anderson, who seems like the most sensible option for us to bring in as a potential long-term replacement for Joelinton?
For experienced options, Scott McTominay and Conor Gallagher stand out, with both having the Premier League experience Eddie Howe values in his players, but the former is no future replacement at 28.
Younger options like AZ Alkmaar’s Kees Smit will have a plethora of clubs chasing his signature in 2026, hence our interest in securing a January deal, whilst Club Brugge’s Aleksandar Stankovic has been linked.
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