It’s now no great secret that Eddie Howe and his team have been met with heavy resistance when trying to deal in the transfer market, especially in the domestic market.
We saw moves for Jack Harrison of Leeds, James Maddison and Youri Tielemans of Leicester along with loan moves for Christian Pulisic and Conor Gallagher of Chelsea all rebuffed in the summer as the Premier League’s teams seem to have taken an “anybody but them” approach when it comes to allowing players to move.
Notably, Newcastle haven’t adopted a similar approach in response, allowing Martin Dubravka to move to Manchester United on loan, despite all of their questionable handling of Jesse Lingard and Dean Henderson when Newcastle came knocking. But that’s another story for another time.
Newcastle were able to bring in Alexander Isak towards the end of the window, but given the moves for the aforementioned players, it’s clear that Newcastle didn’t manage to bring in the midfielder they so desperately craved.
Six games into the season, however, it’s becoming more apparent that the answer to our prayers was in front of our noses the whole time. Elliot Anderson blew the Bristol Rovers fans away on loan last season, and as a result, Newcastle’s fans have been desperate to see what he can do.
Is It Time To Start Anderson?
Yes
Not yet
We’ve only seen him in flashes so far as Howe has chosen to use him sparingly, but the quality is there for all to see. He’s creative, tenacious, quick and isn’t afraid to have a shot – except that chance against Palace where he should have just put his foot through it, but instead opted to try and find a pass.
Arguments can be made that it’s too soon for him, but if he’s good enough, he’s old enough. Other clubs don’t seem to have a problem throwing their youngsters in at the deep end. Everton and Wayne Rooney is perhaps the best example of this.
Had this weekend’s fixture gone ahead, it may well have been too soon for Maxi and/or Bruno, and would have been the perfect time to give Anderson his first start of the season. Hopefully soon we will get a full match out of him and we can see exactly what he’s made of.
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