Elliot Anderson was ‘Lionel Messi of League Two’ – Geordie Maradona will be ‘one of the greats’

England fans will not miss the irony that a player nicknamed Diego Maradona will be key to winning the World Cup.

But after just one training session, League Two Bristol Rovers knew that teenager Elliot Anderson would become one of the greats.

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“It’s always good to talk about Geordie Maradona,” Rovers president Wael Al-Qadi began an exclusive interview with The Pitch Prospect.com. “Joe Barton called him that and it stuck with the Gas Heads that he was our Geordie Maradona.”

Anderson is only 339 minutes into his senior England career and yet The Pitch Prospect’s Adrian Durham has already guaranteed him a seat on the plane.

No player under Thomas Tuchel has made more forward passes than Anderson’s 98 since his senior debut against Andorra.

His immediate impact on the Three Lions was evident on Tuesday when Anderson completed 115 passes in the opposition half; For comparison: the entire Latvian team only managed 66 points in the English half.

Al-Qadi added: “We’re not just proud, we’re just amazed. But we kind of knew because we knew we had something special there.”

“Even though he was only 19 when he came in. I remember talking to Joe and Eddie Jennings, the director of football and CEO.

“We always knew he would reach such heights. We believed in it because when you work with him every day, you basically notice it.”

Anderson had only made two senior appearances for his youth club Newcastle when he was loaned out to Bristol Rovers.

Three years later, after his England debut, Tuchel immediately responded to his performance by saying: “I think he passed the test.”

Fittingly, the start of his meteoric rise coincided with a similar audition, when the midfielder was initially not particularly popular with a team that was stagnating in mid-table in the second division.

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Elliot Anderson transfer

Bristol Rovers were sitting 12th in the League Two table when they made a deadline day move for Anderson in January 2022.

Despite his inexperience at senior level, the then teenager had scored seven goals in nine games in all competitions for Newcastle’s U23s.

However, then Pirates boss Barton – a former Magpies player – had to be convinced by a former teammate to take the chance on Anderson.

A move to Luton Town had fallen through, while rumors from Fleetwood Town and Northampton had failed to materialize.

Al-Qadi said: “It was a very funny story because we were looking for an attacking midfielder and we had our goals.

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“And because of Joe and Eddie’s strong network and connections in football, names of colleagues at different clubs are always suggested to you.

“So, Shola Ameobi, [then-loan manager at Newcastle]he called Joe and said, “Listen to me, just take this kid.” Joe being Joe said, “No, I won’t take him.”

“‘How come no one else took him? Then he must be shit if they want to force him on us and no one took him.’

“Shola was like, ‘No, trust me, trust me and just take him.'”

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Elliot Anderson £250 wages

After missing other goals, Barton finally approved the move on the deadline.

Rovers eventually agreed to pay just £250 a week towards Anderson’s wages – half of what Newcastle had originally proposed.

“First training session, our boys were just blown away,” the club president told The Pitch Prospect. “Everyone was talking about him.

“Usually a child who comes in so late in the time slot is on loan that it takes a while to get a few minutes.

“But I remember he immediately took the first spot in the starting lineup. And he just never looked back.”

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Anderson was “Messi of the second division”

The Nottingham Forest star made his debut for Rovers two days after signing for Rovers, in a 1-1 draw against promoted club Sutton United.

He made his first start in the following game – a 2-1 defeat to Oldham Athletic – but what happened next has entered club folklore.

The Rovers lost just two more games for the remainder of the season, with Anderson scoring eight goals and registering five assists.

He won the Goal of the Month award in March and won both the EFL Young Player award and the EFL League Two Player of the Month award in April.

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After a 1-0 win over Colchester United, in which he scored the winning goal, Anderson compared to the legendary Argentine Maradona by Barton.

“It was just unbelievable. He was a big factor in our rise towards the promotion places, every goal was breathtaking.”

The highlight of his time was the final day of the League Two season when Rovers secured automatic promotion on goal difference.

Anderson scored the seventh crucial goal in a historic 7-0 win over Scunthorpe, ensuring the Gas went five goals past Northampton Town’s 3-1 win at Barrow, sparking a pitch invasion that halted play for almost 20 minutes.

“I think it was possibly his first header and his only header during his loan spell,” Al-Qadi continued. “It was so fitting because it was like the icing on the cake. We needed seven goals and he scored the seventh goal.”

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Elliot Anderson becomes world champion

The 22 years old left St. James’ Park in July 2024 and moved to Premier League rivals Forest, where he went from strength to strength.

His continued success remains a cause for celebration for his former loan team, but there is no doubt at Rovers that he is still far from reaching his peak.

Al-Qadi told The Pitch Prospect: “The feeling is a feeling of pride and happiness to be associated with a player like that, who we honestly believe will be one of the greats.”

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“You could just see it when we got promoted afterwards, the celebration, how much it meant to him and how much more he wanted from that success.

“Some people get promoted, you have to win by seven, and then you score by seven and get promoted. They would say, ‘Okay, I can die now.’

“He wants more. He wants the next level. He wants to win it all, and he’s going to be hungry for it. Those are the ingredients you need to be successful.”

“Hopefully we’ll see Elliot as a World Cup winner one day… It’ll happen. Trust me!”