Joe Cole insists ‘sky is the limit’ for academy star Eddie Howe never wanted to sell at Newcastle

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Joe Cole has praised a former Newcastle United academy star whom Eddie Howe didn’t want to leave the club.

Certain transfers are not within the control of managers, despite their position at a football club, and Howe has experienced that at times since joining Newcastle.

While the club lost a major player this summer in Alexander Isak, who Newcastle had wanted to retain, there’s another former star who Howe also wanted to keep hold of.

This transfer stung even more because it involved an academy star who had worked his way through the ranks at Newcastle to reach the first team, and Cole has been impressed with his development ever since.

Joe Cole believes Elliot Anderson will play for England at the World Cup

Elliot Anderson was sold by Newcastle to Nottingham Forest in 2024 for £35million, which was a deal that surprised a lot of people at the time, given his affiliation with the Magpies.

Since then, he has kicked on and become a key player for Nottingham Forest, and he impressed once again in midweek during the Europa Conference League.

Cole praised him on TNT Sports after Nottingham Forest’s performance and tipped him for a big move and a place in the England squad.

“I think he plays for England at the World Cup. Forest fans won’t thank me for saying this, but he’s not at this club for a long time. I think he’s that good. I see something in him, he’s a winner.

“There was a moment at the Euros, he was dropped for a game at the Under-21s, and then he came on and he scored the penalty, and there was an anger in his face. There’s a real belief in him, the way he snaps into tackles.

“I’m thinking to myself as a player, I’d want Elliot Anderson in my team playing next to me. I think Thomas Tuchel has seen that, and I think he’s put himself in pole position, I really do.

“If he keeps playing like he does tonight, listen, there’s a lot of ifs and buts, there’s a long way to go. But if he keeps going on the trajectory he’s going on, the sky’s the limit for the kid.”

Eddie Howe didn’t want to sell Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest

Selling Anderson is obviously a regret for Newcastle, considering how well he has performed since and his potential as a footballer.

However, Newcastle didn’t want to sanction the sale, as this deal ended up taking place so that Newcastle could meet the PSR rules to ensure they didn’t get deducted points.

Howe has openly discussed Anderson during press conferences, including previously admitting to The Independent that he didn’t want to sell the midfielder.

“Elliot was a sale we didn’t want to make. Nobody at the football club internally wanted to make that sale, but we had to.”