Wednesday join the chase for young Anderson

SHEFFIELD Wednesday are among the sides interested in signing former Bristol Rovers loanee Elliot Anderson although, like the Pirates, they will need to wait and see if Newcastle want to keep the promising teenager for themselves next season, writes James Piercy.

Yorkshire Live, a sister website of the Daily Press, report that Anderson, right, came close to joining the Owls in January, with the 19-year-old then joining Rovers on deadline day and enjoying a highly-profitable second half of 2021/22.

Anderson was integral to Rovers’ promotion drive up League Two, scoring seven goals – including the crucial seventh against Scunthorpe – and assisting a further six times as Joey Barton’s side finished in the final automatic promotion spot on the last day of the season. Anderson was also named League Two Player and April’s Young Player of the Month.

Barton has never shied away from the fact that he would love to have Anderson back at the Memorial Stadium for another season, but accepts that such is the level of the midfielder’s talent he has the potential to be a first-team option for the Magpies in the Premier League.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted he wants to take a good look at him over the summer before making a call on his short-term prospects, a decision that could run into late July with a whole host of clubs monitoring his situation.

Anderson did have Championship clubs scouting him during his time in north Bristol, with Millwall and Luton previously reported to be keen, but Newcastle’s decisions will be driven by where the player will earn the most game time and in the right coaching set-up, two aspects in which Rovers and Barton have very much delivered.

Now in League One, like the Owls, Rovers would represent a step up the pyramid for Anderson, who played for Scotland U21s against Belgium on Sunday, but Howe has stated that his preference was always for a Championship loan.