Manchester United are the latest big-name club to have been linked with a move for former Newcastle United star Elliot Anderson.
Anderson was perhaps the biggest beneficiary from the international break. Indeed, the former Newcastle United midfielder made his debut for England against Andorra before impressing again in their 5-0 win over Serbia a few days later.
Newcastle reluctantly sold Anderson to Nottingham Forest in 2024 to balance the books. Given his status as a Newcastle United academy graduate, the club banked every penny they received for him as ‘pure profit’ on their balance sheet.
That sale, along with Yankuba Minteh’s to Brighton, helped Newcastle avoid punishment. Had they breached the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), they could have been deducted points.
The 22-year-old has shone at Forest, emerging as one of the Premier League’s leading central midfielders. As such, Newcastle fans want the club to re-sign Anderson.
It seems, however, that Manchester United could enter the running.
Manchester United interested in Elliot Anderson
According to TEAMtalk, the Old Trafford giants retain an interest in the Forest star.
It’s said that Ruben Amorim has been told he will have funds to spend in January, with Anderson a midfield target.
The report claims that their interest is growing in the Forest star, who is under contract at the City Ground until the summer of 2029.
Newcastle already regret selling Anderson, so the prospect of him moving to a rival would make a bad situation all the worse.
With all due respect to Forest, it is surely easier to sign a player from them than it would be from the Red Devils, given the difference in their wage structures.
How much did Newcastle United sell Elliot Anderson for?
Newcastle sold Anderson for around £35million, which is already looking rather cheap.
What makes matters worse is the fact that Newcastle repaid a significant part of that when signing former Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos for around £20million.
That means the club only netted around £15million from selling Anderson, who now looks like one of the most valuable English talents around.
Eddie Howe has warned the Anderson fiasco will happen again at Newcastle, with PSR actually rewarding clubs for selling their academy products due to the pure profit rule.
The Newcastle United manager has said: “I think that one is a very unusual one because I think that will be happening again, not just here, but at other football clubs, when you sell footballers for financial reasons.”
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