Chris Wood shares what really surprised him about Elliot Anderson leaving Newcastle United

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Elliot Anderson’s departure from Newcastle United was devastating.

It came as a complete shock to Newcastle fans, but it was ultimately something the club had to do. Anderson was sold to Nottingham Forest in the summer so Newcastle could comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.

Young prospect Yankuba Minteh also left Newcastle at the same time to give the club as much profit as possible.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted he didn’t want to lose Anderson who is now thriving at Forest alongside Chris Wood, another former Newcastle man.

Wood opened up about his Newcastle exit recently, admitting Howe was “honest and open” about his position in the squad with Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson both performing well.

The 33-year-old has performed exceptionally this season, scoring 13 goals in 21 Premier League games, equalling Isak’s tally.

Now Wood has lifted the lid on how he felt about Anderson’s arrival at Forest.

Chris Wood knew Elliot Anderson would succeed after Newcastle exit

Since joining Forest in the summer, Anderson has made 20 Premier League appearances. He has bagged five assists, including one for Wood in October.

Wood spoke to FourFourTwo magazine where he was asked about Anderson joining Forest and if his immediate impact surprised him.

“Definitely not,” he said.

“I knew straight away that he was going to be a terrific player for us. It was interesting to see him leave Newcastle because I knew how much he was valued up there, by the fans and by the people around the club.

“Obviously, things have to be done at certain stages of transfer windows, and we were very lucky to get him. He’s already shown his quality.

“The Forest supporters love him already and he’s got so much more to achieve here.”

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Anderson compared to Newcastle midfielders

For the sake of Anderson’s career, a move away from Newcastle was probably the best thing he could’ve done.

Newcastle don’t have a buyback clause for Anderson so if they wanted to bring him back to the club it could cost a fortune.

The 22-year-old has created 27 chances in his 20 appearances this season, more than all of Newcastle’s preferred midfield trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali. He has more assists than Joelinton and Tonali but is level with Guimaraes despite the Brazilian creating five fewer chances.

Anderson is enjoying much more freedom at Forest. A lot of the football goes through the midfielders under Nuno Espirito Santo as a result of his more methodical style of football.

The midfielder recently linked up with Newcastle defender Lewis Hall for England under-21s where he scored in the Three Lions’ 7-0 win against Azerbaijan.