Newcastle United looks to grow Elliot Anderson’s role

Newcastle United may have had a few hiccups to start 2023, but after finding their footing through March, the Magpies may have themselves an opportunity to showcase some of the team’s depth.

The name Elliot Anderson may ring a bell to some Magpie faithful that enjoys their young talent, and rightfully so.

Anderson has been a fan favorite for quite some time now as he’s shined in the youth squad and now this season, he’s been elevated to the first team where he’s been slotted into some big moments.

Against Nottingham Forest, he put on a jaw-dropping display, for his lack of experience, in the 2-1 win. Unfortunately, the youngster was robbed of his first senior goal by a horrible decision from the replay, which called his goal offside.

Nonetheless, manager Eddie Howe was impressed with the performance he put together in his first real test in the lineup.

“The quality of our squad, it’s never going to be easy to break in,” he said. “It’s the hardest phase of his career really.”

With so much talent on the Newcastle United squad, it’ll be difficult for Anderson to find time in the rotation unless he separates himself from others.

He played 45 minutes, took two shots with one ending up on goal and recorded two tackles.

One thing to note was that Anderson was not as involved as he should’ve been in lead-ups to the attack.

In those 45 minutes, he touched the ball just 24 times, averaging to right around a touch per minute.

With just that little amount of involvement, and he was still able to find a goal that was waived off, I would expect him to be more involved in the rotation in due time.