Nottingham Forest’s ‘Geordie Maradona’ who Eddie Howe never wanted to sell

He was ambitiously branded as the ‘Geordie Maradona’ at Newcastle United, and Elliot Anderson is the homegrown star Eddie Howe never wanted to sell.

Anderson’s exit to Nottingham Forest this summer will always be a source of regret for Newcastle’s manager, and the midfielder’s swift impact at his new club will only increase the levels of frustration.

With Newcastle desperately scrambling to raise money before the dreaded June 30 deadline to avoid a hefty points deduction, Anderson became collateral damage.

Joining Forest for a fee of around £15 million, the England Under-21 international was on a family holiday in Portugal when he took the call informing him that his 13-year association with the club was to end.

Along with his close friend Anthony Gordon, and Forest’s Brennan Johnson, Anderson is another high-profile victim of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.

Indeed, a source close to Howe described Anderson’s sale “as one of the most difficult decisions he has ever had to make as a manager”. Anderson can at least take some consolation from the fact that his departure helped save Newcastle from some serious problems down the track.

Yet Newcastle’s loss is a major gain for Forest, and he is already proving to be a very shrewd signing for Nuno Espirito Santo. Three league games into the new season, he has already won the club’s player-of-the-month award.

An all-action midfielder with a wide passing range, Anderson also possesses a degree of aggression that helps him keep the ball in physical duels. Forest believe his versatility is a huge plus, and view him either playing as a No 10 or No 8 in future years.

Low maintenance and with high potential, he fits the criteria of players aged between 20 and 24 that Forest’s recruitment team identified as a priority this summer.

It is of course still early days, but for Anderson to produce such an impression already cannot be overestimated.

After joining Newcastle at the age of eight, it could have been a tricky period of adaptation in a new environment. Getting his head around the questions such as “why me?” may have taken some time to recover from.

Forest’s interest in Anderson has been there for some time. They made an inquiry earlier in the summer, but any hopes of a deal appeared very remote until the end of June approached.

The first signs of a possible exit came when Anderson was tentatively offered to Wolves in a cash-plus-player deal for Max Kilman, the defender. Kilman subsequently joined West Ham for £40 million but it was evident that Anderson’s future was a little uncertain.

As the weekend of June 29-30 loomed, talks opened with Forest. Anthony Elanga, the winger, was a target for Newcastle and both Anderson and Yankuba Minteh were discussed as part of a deal. Anderson was Forest’s No 1 choice, with Minteh eventually joining Brighton after a move to Lyon collapsed. Negotiations over a potential deal for Elanga quickly ended too.

With Newcastle still under huge pressure to raise funds, a transfer for Anderson was thrashed out for a total £35 million. Around £15 million of that was spent on the midfielder while Forest’s third-choice goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos joined Newcastle for a fee of over £20 million.

While Anderson has appeared in all of Forest’s games so far, Vlachodimos has not even been on Newcastle’s bench.

With the prospect of more regular game-time, this could be a transformative season. While many Newcastle fans regard his departure as a sad indictment of modern football, some also argue that his chances under Howe this year would have been limited.

Newcastle rarely play with a No 10 (which might be his ideal position) and they have Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock, the returning Sandro Tonali, Sean Longstaff and Lewis Miley in the centre of midfield.

There is also little doubt that injuries held him back. A long-term hip problem affected his progress as a teenager, while he sustained a stress fracture in his back last season. Now, however, the future appears very bright. Along with his excellent start at Forest, he made his debut for the England Under-21s earlier this month. A major target is eventually earning promotion to the senior team.

Anderson is set to start at Liverpool on Saturday with Forest aiming to protect an unbeaten league record so far. The Whitley Bay wonderkid may have left his roots, but already looks at home.