Highly rated Toon prospect Elliot Anderson has been named one of the top 20 Premier League youngsters to look out for in 2021 by The Athletic.
The Scottish U17 international has been making waves for our reserve sides this season, scoring six goals in just eight starts – an impressive return for an attacking midfielder in an average youth team.
His selection makes him our sole representative on the list, and puts him alongside a host of talented names from the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City.
Whitley Bay native Anderson has been billed as one of the most exciting prospects to come out of our academy for years, with fans clamouring to see him in action for the first team sooner rather than later.
I wrote an article on the 18-year-old back in November (read it here), urging Bruce to give the youngster a chance while telling the player himself to even pursue a loan move away if he had to. I later found out Anderson actually read the piece, with his mother also having kind words to say about our wish to see him given an opportunity.
With our hectic Christmas period including our shocking cup exit to Brentford, it was surprising to see him only managing to make the bench. The fixture pile up could have served as a perfect platform to throw the young man into the deep end to see what he is made of.
His time will come soon enough. I myself am extremely excited to see what this lad can do. Bruce only has to look at the Longstaffs to see how quickly an outsider from the youth team can turn into an important part of the first team squad.
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