EFL club handed England £70m World Cup boost – but Eddie Howe decision ‘cost them Championship football’

Eddie Howe caused a stir when he admitted he would like to have Elliot Anderson back – and he’s far from the only one from his old clubs.

The Newcastle United manager sold the club’s academy graduate to Nottingham Forest for £35m in July 2024 to join PSR.

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To make matters worse, Forest effectively paid just £15m as 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 them qualify for European football for the first time since the 1995/96 season with a seventh-place finish.

The four-time English star at Manchester City is now worth more than twice as much as his original transfer fee and Chelsea are reportedly planning a £75m bid.

Earlier this month, Howe publicly admitted he would like to have Anderson back at Newcastle, claiming he never wanted to sell him.

However, Bristol Rovers president Wael Al-Qadi will have little sympathy for the Toon manager’s plight.

The Gas are the only other club Anderson has played for in his young career, having acquired the midfielder on loan in 2022.

The 22-year-old had only made two senior appearances for the Magpies when he joined them in twelfth place in the League Two table.

In an impressive 21 games, Anderson scored eight goals and assisted five more, with Rovers only losing three of his games.

The then-teenager won both the EFL Young Player and EFL League Two Player of the Month awards in April 2022, having also won the division’s Goal of the Month award in March.

On the last matchday of the season, Anderson crowned his appearance at Rovers and helped the club to automatic promotion on goal difference.

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Anderson scored the seventh and decisive goal in a 7-0 win over Scunthorpe to ensure the Gas saw off Northampton Town. The club’s fan base was still following its meteoric rise three years later.

“The feeling is one of pride and happiness to be associated with such a player who we believe will be one of the greats,” Rovers president Wael Al-Qadi exclusively told The Pitch Prospect.com.

“Our fans follow him like crazy because they were part of his journey too, and it’s an ongoing journey, and they follow every second of his life. It’s really incredible. It’s a beautiful story.”

“I know his parents very well. Such a great family and his brothers. Very helpful, very down to earth, really nice, nice people.”

“You could see why he would be successful because he was so down to earth and had a wonderful family around him.

“It makes them really, really happy to see how successful he becomes.”

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Elliot Anderson at Bristol Rovers

Unfortunately for Rovers, the club was unable to follow Anderson’s rapid rise to the top following relegation in April.

Pirates were keen to get the ‘Geordie Maradona’ back to the top of their league push ahead of the 2022/23 season.

But an injury to Jonjo Shelvey and an impressive pre-season performance meant Howe decided against letting Anderson go again.

The latter was given a new long-term contract but only made three Premier League starts under Howe this year.

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“I wanted him to come back,” Al-Qadi added to The Pitch Prospect. “And he begged Newcastle to send him back.

“We obviously wanted him back. We did our best to get him back. But unfortunately Eddie Howe… he liked to hoard players.”

“He kept him at Newcastle and didn’t use him this season. Not much, basically.”

Then-coach Joey Barton later attributed this to the Pirates struggling to compete in the first division after losing the “Lionel Messi of the second division”.

Al-Qadi went a step further, claiming Rovers would have reached the Championship if Anderson had been allowed to return.

“Bristol Rovers would be in the Championship”

“Honestly, if we had him back in the top flight we would have been in the Championship with him,” he claimed.

“Absolutely [we would have reached the Championship with Anderson]. Because it is so versatile.

“Offensively, on the wing, attacking midfielder, number 10. He’s just brilliant, his fitness, his physicality, his size, his dribbling, his feet, his shots.

“The funny thing is that when he finally made it to Forest he didn’t play that far up front.

“He was more sitting down, wasn’t he? Which was a bit confusing for me. Because I think his strength is on the attacking side.”

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Elliot Anderson’s position change

At the City Ground, Anderson played a deeper midfield role, where he also featured in each of his four England appearances.

The Rovers president continued: “Honestly, if you told me he was a defensive midfielder I would say: ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ Because he’s just incredible at the top end of the pitch.

“Scoring goals, assisting, tricking, dribbling, crossing. That’s just where we saw him. The fact that he acts as a defensive midfielder is a bit strange.”

“But he excelled at it. And that’s what we’re talking about. The talent is just there in abundance.”

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Anderson is not the only English talent whose development Rovers can be proud of. Jarell Quansah is also in the youngest camp.

The defender played 16 times on loan at Bristol Rovers in 2023, providing the springboard for his breakthrough at Liverpool.

Quansah made 58 appearances at Anfield over two seasons following his loan spell at BS7 before moving to Bayer Leverkusen for £35m.

“For us, the idea that this guy played for us a year and a half ago and was sold for 40 million is mind-boggling.

“Again, they’re crazy numbers, especially at the level we’re at. But hey, that’s football, right?

“That’s why we are vital to the pyramid because we can develop players and give them a chance, not just with Elliot Anderson.

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“We are a third of the way to a complete England team here [with England U21 and West Brom goalkeeper Josh Griffiths,” Al-Qadi joked.

“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.”