Elliot Anderson’s rapid-fire rise of late may have even come as a surprise to Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer.
Anderson has shone since leaving Newcastle United for Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2024, establishing himself as a leading Premier League midfielder before forcing his way into the England set-up.
It has been a remarkable rise for the 22-year-old, made all the more galling by the fact Newcastle reluctantly sold Anderson to Forest.
Indeed, the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) means that academy graduates largely bring in the most money in terms of player sales. They go down as ‘pure profit’ on the club’s balance sheet.
Newcastle had got themselves into a position where they had to cash in which, at the time, was certainly more palatable than letting any of their established stars leave.
Still, Newcastle regret selling Anderson and it seems not even Shearer predicted him to come on so quickly.
- READ MORE: Elliot Anderson joins Alan Shearer and Peter Beardsley on exclusive list after making England debut
Alan Shearer didn’t think Elliot Anderson would get picked for England so quickly
Speaking on The Rest is Football Podcast, fellow pundit Micah Richards revealed a conversation he had with the Newcastle United legend about Anderson.
It happened shortly after he left St James’ Park for the City Ground, with Richards tipping Anderson as an outsider for the England squad even before he made his debut.
Shearer, at that time, appears not to have thought he would get rewarded with that so quickly.
“I said this in the group, we did something where it was an outsider to get into the England squad, and I said Anderson,” revealed Richards.
“He’d just moved to Forest and Alan said ‘he’s a very good player, but I’m not sure he’ll get in.’ But in terms of someone who can do something different, we talk about a holding midfielder, there aren’t many about, we know what [Declan] Rice is like, he likes to go forward.”
Do Newcastle United have a buy-back clause for Elliot Anderson?
Sadly, Newcastle do not have a buy-back clause for Anderson.
Back in 2024 when they were in the midst of PSR strife, the club were not negotiating from a position of strength.
They needed players sold quickly to avoid a punishment from the Premier League, so were hardly in much of a position to start demanding clauses.
- READ MORE: Elliot Anderson camp vindicated as he makes sad Newcastle admission ahead of potential England debut
Shearer isn’t wrong to have been cautious, however. Anderson, while talented, hadn’t been given the chance to prove himself on the elite stage during his time at Newcastle due to the competition for places.
Now, however, he looks a safe bet to be included in England’s squad for the 2026 World Cup next summer.
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