The Newcastle United midfield assembled by Eddie Howe is the envy of many Premier League clubs.

Boasting full-fledged international stars in Joelinton, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, and boosted by Lewis Miley and Jacob Ramsey as hugely capable back-up options: it’s perhaps our strongest department.

And the recent news of Tonali’s contract extension, potentially seeing him stay on Tyneside until 2030, means we can enjoy having a world-class midfield for the rest of the decade.

But there’s always room for improvement. And with big Joe moving closer to his 30s, all eyes are on one player’s possible return to the club…

Newcastle return “interests” Anderson

As rumours continue to swirl surrounding the future of local lad and current England star Elliot Anderson, a new report from the i’s Mark Douglas will give us some hope that a potential return could bee on the cards.

According to Douglas, the prospect of a move back to Newcastle is indeed an exciting idea to the 22-year-old, though he currently remains committed to Nottingham Forest.

The report also states that club officials have ‘investigated the idea’ of bringing Anderson back to his boyhood team, suggesting the former Toon talent is very much on our radar and not just a fanciful idea.

Anderson has admirers in both Howe and the new Sporting Director Ross Wilson, who was formally appointed to his new position after being poached by us from the City Ground.

It would be hard to imagine that Anderson would want to give up his current position at Forest however. The first name on the team sheet, playing in the Europa League, and looking incredibly likely to be on the plane to the World Cup, the former academy graduate surely won’t want to rush any decision right now.

Move back would come at big cost

Douglas adds that any deal to bring Anderson back would come at a hefty price, stating he is expected to cost in excess of the £55m we spent on Anthony Elanga this past summer.

That’s big money, but no real surprise given his age, skillset, massive potential and recent rise, with him not only one of the top Premier League talents of the 2025/26 season but now a key part of Thomas Tuchel’s England side.

Anderson was of course sold to Forest in the summer of 2024 as part of a PSR-appeasing pair of deals between the clubs, which saw Odysseas Vlachodimos come to the North East ‘in exchange’.

So whilst Anderson only ‘cost’ Forest around £15-20m to buy, they’re set to make some substantial profit if they sell him in the next couple of seasons, as Manchester City and Manchester United have both been tenuously linked with a move for the midfielder.