Eddie Howe caused a stir by admitting he would 'love' to have Elliot Anderson back - and he's far from the only one of his old clubs.
The Newcastle United boss sold the club's academy graduate to Nottingham Forest in July 2024 for £35million to comply with PSR.
Boyhood Toon fan Anderson had to leave to help Newcastle avoid a possible points deduction
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Boyhood Toon fan Anderson had to leave to help Newcastle avoid a possible points deductionCredit: Getty
Elliot Anderson applauds the fans after the Premier League match between his former club, Newcastle United, and his current team, Nottingham Forest, at St James' Park
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He is now of the Premier League's best midfieldersCredit: Getty
To add insult to injury, Forest effectively paid only £15m, given Odysseas Vlachodimos moved in the opposite direction for £20m.
Anderson featured in 37 of the Tricky Tree's 38 Premier League games last season, helping to qualify for European football for the first time since the 1995/96 campaign with a seventh-place finish.
Now, the four-cap England star is worth over double his original fee, with Manchester City and Chelsea said to be plotting a £75m bid.
Earlier this month, Howe publicly admitted he would 'love' to have Anderson back at Newcastle, claiming he never wanted to sell him.
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However, there will be little sympathy for the Toon manager's plight from Bristol Rovers president Wael Al-Qadi.
The Gas are the only other club Anderson has played for in his young career, having taken the midfielder on a transformative loan in 2022.
The 22-year-old had only made two senior appearances for the Magpies when he joined the side in 12th in the League Two table.
In a stunning 21-game spell, Anderson scored eight goals and set up five more, with Rovers only losing three of the matches he played.
The then-teenager won both the EFL Young Player and EFL League Two Player of the Month awards in April 2022, having also claimed the division's goal of the month prize that March.
Anderson then capped off his Rovers stint on the final day of the season to help the club seal automatic promotion on goal difference.
Bristol Rovers Wael Al Qadi predicts former loan star and current England international Elliot Anderson to become a football great
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Bristol Rovers still hold former loan star Anderson in extremely high regard
Anderson scored the seventh and decisive strike in a 7-0 win over Scunthorpe to ensure the Gas edged out Northampton Town, with the club's fanbase still following his meteoric rise three years later.
“The feeling is the feeling of being proud and happy to be associated with such a player who we believe is going to be one of the greats,” Rovers president Wael Al-Qadi exclusively told talkSPORT.com.
“Our fans follow him like crazy because they were also part of his journey, and it's a continuing journey, and they follow every second of his life. It's incredible, really. It's a beautiful story.
“I know his parents very well. Such a lovely family and his brothers. Very supportive, very down to earth, lovely, lovely people, really.
“You could see why he's going to be successful because he's so grounded and he has a beautiful family around him.
“It's just really, really glad for them to see how successful he's becoming.”
Elliot Anderson stats vs Latvia
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Anderson made his senior England debut in September, but now is a core part of Tuchel's teamCredit: Getty
Elliot Anderson stats vs Latvia
Touches
Total - 150
Match rank - 1st
Passes
Total - 130
Match rank - 1st
Passes in final third
Total - 80
Match rank - 1st
Final third entries
Total - 19
Match rank - 1st
Possession won
Total - 11
Match rank - 1st
Duels won
Total - 7
Match rank - 1st
Tackles
Total - 4
Match rank - 1st
Interceptions
Total - 3
Match rank - 1st
Elliot Anderson at Bristol Rovers
Unfortunately for Rovers, the club were unable to follow Anderson's rapid rise to the top after suffering relegation in April.
The Pirates were desperate to get the 'Geordie Maradona' back to front their League Push ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Yet an injury to Jonjo Shelvey and an impressive performance in pre-season meant Howe decided against letting Anderson leave again.
The latter was handed a new long-term contract, but made just three Premier League starts under Howe that year.
Bristol Rovers hit out at Eddie Howe for denying Elliot Anderson's return
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Anderson was never a first-team regular under Howe before he was sold to Forest
“I wanted him to come back,” Al-Qadi added to talkSPORT. "And he was begging Newcastle to send him back.
“We, of course, wanted him back. We were trying our hardest to get him back. But unfortunately, Eddie Howe...he liked to hoard players.
“He kept him up at Newcastle and didn't play him that season. Not much, basically.”
Then-manager Joey Barton later attributed the Pirates' struggles to compete in League One after losing the 'Lionel Messi of League Two.'
Al-Qadi has gone one step further by claiming Rovers would have reached the Championship had Anderson been allowed to return.
Bristol Rovers fan gives insight on Elliot Anderson's rise to the England national team
'Bristol Rovers would be in the Championship'
“Honestly, if we had him back in League One, we would have been in the Championship with him,” he claimed.
“Absolutely [we would have reached the Championship with Anderson]. Because he's so versatile.
“Attacking-wise, on the wing, attacking midfielder, number 10. He's just brilliant, his fitness, his physicality, his height, his dribbling, his feet, his shooting.
“What's funny is that when he made it eventually, at Forest, he wasn't playing that far up front.
“He was more sitting, wasn't he? Which was, for me, a bit baffling. Because his strength is his attacking side, I think.”
Elliot Anderson celebrates scoring his second goal in two games for Bristol Rovers
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Anderson drew comparisons to a teenage Maradona by his manager, BartonCredit: Getty
Elliot Anderson's position change
At the City Ground, Anderson has starred in a deeper midfield role, where he has also played in each of his four England appearances.
The Rovers president continued: “Honestly, if you were to tell me he'd be a holding midfielder, I'd be like, 'You don't know what you're talking about.' Because he's just incredible at the top end of the pitch.
“Scoring goals, assisting, trickery, dribbling, crossing. It's just that's where we saw him. For him to be holding midfielder is a bit strange.
“But he excelled at it. And that's what we're talking about. The talent is just in abundance there.”
Bristol Rovers president reacts to former loan defender Jarell Quansah being sold by Liverpool for £35 million
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Anderson is not the only England talent Rovers can feel proud of helping develop, with Jarell Quansah also in the most recent camp.
The defender played 16 times on loan at Bristol Rovers in 2023, which provided the springboard for him to break through at Liverpool.
Quansah made 58 appearances across two seasons at Anfield following his loan in BS7, before joining Bayer Leverkusen for £35m.
“For us to think that this guy was playing for us a year and a half ago and he was sold for 40 million, it's mind-boggling.
“Again, it's crazy numbers, especially at the level where we're at. But, hey, that's football, isn't it?
“That's why we are vital to the pyramid, because we can develop players and give them an opportunity, not only with Elliot Anderson.
England beat Germany in a five-goal thriller to retain their U21 European title
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The pair were both part of the England side that beat Germany in a five-goal thriller to retain their U21 European titleCredit: Getty
“We're a third of the way to a whole England team here [with England U21 and West Brom goalkeeper Josh Griffiths,” Al-Qadi joked.
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“That doesn't come from luck. I'm not going to take any credit for this, but we had excellent managers and people working, backroom staff who could identify these types of players and bring them in with their connections and networks.
“That's what you need, people who know what they're doing, basically.”