‘Geordie Maradona’ Anderson is on a journey

ELLIOT Anderson has gone from playing in the Leasing.com Trophy to the Champions League in the space of just three years.

But the Whitley Bay lad is acutely aware of his incredible journey, and is not one to forget his roots.

It was only in 2019 when Anderson headed home his first competitive goal for Newcastle in a 2-1 defeat in front of a crowd of just 571 fans.

That night just 23 Newcastle fans watched on from the away end at Vale Park as Anderson scored a goal in a dead rubber game, with United already out, that meant nothing to many but everything to the Academy product. Anderson told The Journal: “Port Vale away? Header at the back post? Yeah, time flies, I can’t believe it was three years ago. It feels like only yesterday that I came into the team really. But I think I have improved quite a bit since then. And I think I have grown a bit since then.”

The 20-year-old has grabbed preseason by the scruff of the neck and even though he has been on a team sheet that cost millions, the youngster who didn’t cost Newcastle a penny has been the best player of pre-season.

Eddie Howe has been cautious about hype surrounding Anderson and that’s understandable.

As Newcastle toured the United States, comparisons were drawn up in the media with Paul Gascoigne but that feels like water off a duck’s back for a player fans have already branded: “Geordie Maradona”.

The truth is, Anderson has raised his own standards to adhere to.

He said: “Set targets? Yeah, I do it all the time actually. I said to myself in pre-season that I wanted to be the top goalscorer.”

Anderson should start against Aston Villa in the Premier League opener, or at least that should be the case based on summer form.

The playmaker, however, was only selected from the beginning in three Premier League games last season – and one of them saw him subbed when Nick Pope was sent off against Liverpool. For all that, Anderson’s progress in the last three or four months has left Howe with a huge decision to make.

When asked about starting more games, Anderson said: “I’d love to start the season (Premier League). Every player wants to but it is such a good team at the minute. As long as the team is doing well everybody is happy for the team. But if I can get in there it will be great.”