Newcastle United could face stiff competition in £75m raid on Premier League rival
A lot of interest is growing around former Newcastle United star Elliot Anderson, and if the Magpies are truly serious about bringing the local lad back home, they're going to have their work cut out for them.
Newcastle reluctantly sold Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest last summer when both clubs were staring down the barrel of a points deduction due to breaching PSR. Newcastle agreed to sell Anderson to Forest for £35 million, while Forest sent us Odysseas Vlachodimos for £20 million. You decide who won that one.
Eddie Howe has made it very clear many times that had circumstances been different, there was no way he'd have entertained selling Anderson, who was Newcastle's most promising academy graduate in years.
Anderson has gone on to live up to that potential, becoming an integral part of Nottingham Forest's side and is now a regular in Thomas Tuchel's England squad.
Several Premier League clubs are circling Elliot Anderson
Eddie Howe recently indicated that he'd have Anderson back at Newcastle in a heartbeat, and ever since, there have been plenty of stories taking that very literally, to the point where fans are now expecting Newcastle to make a bid to bring the 22-year-old back to the Toon.
We're not 100% convinced that we will, and even if we do decide to launch a bid to bring back the prodigal son, it won't be easy.
Manchester United have been credited with an interest in Anderson, but we're confident we could beat them to his signature, given his connection to the club. Now, Chelsea and Manchester City are in the mix, according to The Chronicle, and even with Anderson's love of Newcastle, that does make things difficult.
Would you be happy with Elliot Anderson displacing Joelinton in the Starting XI?
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Yes. Bring the lad home!76%
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No. Joelinton brings a balance to the midfield.24%
Would Elliot Anderson break up Newcastle's midfield trio?
As highly as we rate Anderson, we're still not convinced he breaks up the current midfield trio at Newcastle, and he will have that thought in the back of his mind, too.
If Newcastle can't promise him that he'll be ahead of Joelinton in the pecking order, Chelsea or Manchester City, who are weighing up a summer swoop, could convince him that he has a place in their starting XI.
Chelsea clearly has some kind of hypnosis machine that allows them to tell prospective players exactly what they want to hear; otherwise, how else do they keep signing so many players?
Again, we're not convinced Anderson is a target, but we really hope he is. Ross Wilson has signed him once; hopefully, he can do it again.
