This summer saw Eddie Howe make one of the most difficult decisions he's ever had to make

We're now in the middle of September, the darker nights are rolling in, and whatever sunshine we had this year seems like a distant memory but still Newcastle United are dealing with the summer that never was.

We foolishly thought that once the season got underway and Newcastle had a couple of wins under their belts we'd be able to move on from the summer of disaster, but there's always something that brings us back to it.

Today The Telegraph have done a piece on Elliot Anderson after the 'Geordie Maradona' was awarded Nottingham Forest's player of the month award in his first month at the club.

Newcastle fans don't really need to be reminded of what a talent Anderson is, but in case you do, that should pretty much tell you all you need to know.

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Howe says selling Elliot Anderson was one of the hardest decisions he's made as a manager

Indeed, the one man who really doesn't need reminding of Anderson's talent is Newcastle boss Eddie Howe who has spoken out about having to sell the talented midfielder because of PSR.

In The Telegraph's report, there is a quote from a close friend of Howe's saying that selling Anderson “was one of the most difficult decisions he has ever had to make as a manager”.

It's probably going to be a sale that haunts Newcastle for years to come as the 21-year-old has made the switch to representing England at U21 level and could be heading for a senior cap sooner rather than later.

Newcastle have plenty of cover for Anderson's position but it's not about that

The big saving grace for Newcastle, and probably Howe himself, is that the Magpies are still spoilt for choice in midfield even without Anderson. Especially now that Sandro Tonali is once again available.

In terms of youngsters who can follow in Anderson's footsteps into the first team, Lewis Miley is already making big strides and now his older brother Jamie is starting to force his way into Howe's first team.

It's a strange one to quantify because it's not just about losing a midfielder, it's about losing one of our own and it's about doing so because of a stupid rule everybody hates.