Eddie Howe was a huge fan of Elliot Anderson, who Nottingham Forest acquired from Newcastle United during the summer transfer window for a fee of £35 million.
To find out more about Elliot Anderson, the player Nottingham Forest signed during the summer transfer window, speak with his former manager Eddie Howe. It’s safe to say that Howe was disappointed by Anderson’s departure at the time of his £35 million summer transfer from Premier League rivals Newcastle United to the City Ground. Anderson, 21, completed the move earlier this summer.
The Scottish international Anderson came up through Newcastle’s ranks and played a dominant 2021–22 season for Bristol Rovers in League One. He was brought up into the Tyneside first team during the last few years under Howe, though, and he left this summer after making 55 appearances for the Magpies, including two in the Champions League.
Highly regarded, Anderson signed a five-year contract when he arrived in the East Midlands. However, he was sold to Forest solely for financial gain, at a time when clubs across the nation are being cautious in light of the concerning Profitability and Sustainability Rules. That might work out to be Forest’s gain, particularly considering how highly regarded he was by Howe, who regularly observed him in training.
“You could see Elliot’s talent immediately when I joined Newcastle,” Howe, who has since acknowledged the sale “didn’t sit comfortably with him,” said of Anderson at the end of the previous season. Although he doesn’t say much in the group and is a quiet man, you can tell that he is determined and has steel in him right away. He has a great deal of ambition and self-confidence.
“Elliot is incredibly talented. He isn’t incredibly fast. He can run, but what really counts is how he moves and how confidently he takes the ball in tense situations. He scores a goal after seeing a pass. He had to rise through the ranks at the academy. Elliot was our best player in pre-season. That he was ahead of some stellar names was quite something. He has special qualities.”
Anderson is yet to be capped at senior international level, but he was called up by Scotland manager Steve Clarke in November of last year for a couple of Euro 2024 qualifiers, only to be forced to withdraw through injury. He’ll be hoping that at Forest, then, he’ll be granted the platform under Nuno Espirito Santo to perform and ensure that his first, ill-fated, call up won’t be his last.
He has featured prominently throughout pre-season since arriving and came through an injury scare having limped off in the meeting with Millwall. He featured at the City Ground for the first time in the goalless draw with Villarreal on Friday.
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