Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson is set to be rewarded for his club form with a first senior England call-up.
The 22-year-old has been a central figure since joining Forest from Newcastle United in 2024, playing a major role in the club qualifying for Europe for the first time in three decades.
He featured in all but one of their Premier League games last season, scoring twice and setting up six more.
Anderson has started the new campaign similarly, playing every minute of Forest’s opening fixtures.
His driving run and pass created Chris Wood’s winner against Brentford, while Thomas Tuchel was in attendance as he impressed again in the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace last weekend.
International recognition has been a long time coming for Anderson. Born in Whitley Bay, he represented Scotland at youth level and was even called up by Steve Clarke in 2023 before withdrawing through injury.
He later committed his future to England and became a fixture in the Under-21 squad, helping them win the European Championship this summer and earning a place in UEFA’s team of the tournament.
His rise has been steady rather than sudden. Anderson first joined Newcastle at the age of eight, signing his first professional deal in 2019 before making his senior debut in the FA Cup against Arsenal two years later.
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A loan spell with Bristol Rovers in 2022 accelerated his progress. He scored seven goals in 21 appearances and was memorably compared to Diego Maradona by Joey Barton. Anderson (pictured below) scored the Gas’ seventh and promotion-sealing goal against Scunthorpe.
On his return to Newcastle, Anderson began to establish himself in the first team but found consistent minutes harder to come by.
His £35m move to Forest in July 2024 was in part driven by Newcastle’s need to balance the books, but it quickly proved to be inspired business for the Midlands club.
He became their player of the month almost immediately and by January had netted his first Premier League goal in a 3-2 win over Southampton.
Tuchel has so far leaned on Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and Curtis Jones in midfield during competitive games. Conor Gallagher has also featured.
With Bellingham sidelined through injury, Anderson is expected to step into the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia next month.
England face Andorra at Villa Park on September 6 before travelling to Belgrade on September 9.
Tuchel’s side have won all three of their opening Group K fixtures and sit top of the standings.