Elliot Anderson’s Newcastle departure is very regretful – Eddie Howe

Eddie Howe has admitted he would “love” to have Elliot Anderson back at Newcastle.

The 22-year-old academy graduate found himself at the centre of a transfer window drama during the summer of 2024 when the Magpies reluctantly sold him to Nottingham Forest for £35million in an ultimately successful bid to avoid Premier League sanctions under profitability and sustainability rules.

Anderson has since established himself as a fixture in Forest’s midfield and as a member of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad to leave his hometown club wondering what might have been as he prepares to line up against them at St James’ Park this weekend.

Asked if he could see Anderson returning to Tyneside one day, head coach Howe said: “I don’t know, but certainly from my perspective I would love him to.

“I’m very respectful of the fact he is at another football club and I would never normally talk about a player in that way, so I won’t change that stance.

“But yes, it is very regretful a player from the academy who had given so much – and the club had given so much too, the coaching staff, all those years here and how people tried to develop those talents – for him not to be utilised here is a real shame.”

Anderson’s departure, along with that of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton, dug the Magpies out of a financial hole, but in effect, they received only £15million for one of their brightest prospects after they paid £20m for goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, currently on loan at Sevilla, to make the deal happen.

Asked if Forest got a bargain, Howe said: “Yes, we knew that. We knew that the minute it was going to happen, or likely to happen, that we were massively selling him at a big discount.

“But the position we were in, we weren’t in a very strong negotiating position at all, and it was that or a points deduction. I’ve said many times we had no choice but to make the sale, but it was not one we wanted to do.”

Whether or not Anderson would have had the opportunities to shine at Newcastle that he has at Forest is a moot point, although with Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton currently forming a formidable trio, he may have had his work cut out.

However, Howe was well aware of both his talent and potential and his regret is enduring.

He said: “He was probably at a stage where he was desperate to play regular football and I couldn’t argue with that sort of train of thought. I want all my players to feel that and want that.

“But there was no denying that the ability we saw in him we knew that Elliot was going to be an outstanding player, so it was very much regretful that we lost him.

“He’s a very talented technical player and can do anything he wants with the ball. Those players are very precious.”

Meanwhile, Howe has confirmed that striker Yoane Wissa will be out for longer than expected with the knee injury which has prevented him from making his debut to date, but fellow summer arrival Jacob Ramsey could return from an ankle problem on Sunday.