Anthony Elanga faces up to prospect of playing against his former teammates for first time on Sunday
Nottingham Forest come to St James' Park on Sunday for a Premier League clash with Newcastle United live on Sky Sports - Kick-off is at 2pm.
Forest have struggled this season as things behind the scenes when Nuno Espirito Santo weren't quite right after the Portuguese openly criticised the ownership, which led to his early termination this season.
Since then, The Lucky Trees have appointed Ange Postecoglou as manager, and it's safe to say that he's having a hard time winning over the fans who are already calling for him to be sacked.
It's the ideal time for Newcastle to be playing Forest while they are in such disarray, but there's one man in the Newcastle lineup who will perhaps have a lot more sympathy with the East Midlands club.
Anthony Elanga still speaks to his Nottingham Forest friends on a regular basis
Anthony Elanga joined Newcastle from Nottingham Forest for around £55 million in the summer, and he admitted in an interview with The Independent that he still talks to his old teammates regularly.
“I still speak to them every day because they’re still my mates. But when it comes to the game, then I’ll just lock into that and focus on my team.
“(I have) 100 per cent great memories from there. They’ve got a new manager now and it’s not going to be easy. But I believe in this team and hopefully we can keep that going.”
There will be a player on each side reunited with some old friends
Elanga won't be the only player with mixed emotions on Sunday, as former Magpie and lifelong Newcastle supporter Elliot Anderson will be returning to the club that was forced to sell him against their will.
Eddie Howe is clearly still not over the £35 million sale of Anderson to Nottingham Forest and spoke on Friday about potentially bringing him back to the north east.
We don't think you'd have too many complaints from the Newcastle fanbase if Elliot Anderson was a target in January, although we imagine it will be a difficult deal to do for a while until Anderson's contract is close to expiry at least.
