Newcastle United confirm Elliot Anderson transfer clause truth after £35m Nottingham Forest swoop
Newcastle United sold Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35million in June 2024.
Elliot Anderson will return to St James’ Park with Nottingham Forest on Sunday as they face Newcastle United in the Premier League (2pm kick-off).
Anderson was sold by Newcastle for £35million deal to Nottingham Forest last summer. It was a joint-club record sale at the time but that has since been smashed by the £130million sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool last month.
And the true value of Anderson’s sale has been scrutinised, given goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos headed in the opposite direction for £20million. Newcastle’s most expensive goalkeeper signing made one substitute appearance for the club last season before being loaned out to Sevilla this summer.
And Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe admitted ahead of Sunday’s meeting that not only would he ‘love’ Anderson back at the club, but that Forest got a bargain deal for the midfielder.
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Elliot Anderson’s progress at Nottingham Forest
Just 15 months after leaving Newcastle, Anderson is one of Nottingham Forest’s most important and most valuable players as well as a full England international at 22 years old.
Meanwhile, Newcastle are left wondering what could have been had they not been under pressure to sell due to PSR.
“Yeah, we knew that [Anderson was a bargain],” Howe said. “We knew that the minute it was going to happen, and likely to happen, that we were massively selling him a big discount.
“But the position we were in, we weren't in a very strong negotiating position at all. And it was that or a points deduction. So I said many times we had no choice but to make the sale, but it was not one we wanted to do.”
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Newcastle United Elliot Anderson transfer clause truth
Often when a club sells a young academy graduate, various clauses are inserted into the deal. Chelsea and Manchester City are just two clubs that have made millions from various sell-on clauses while also having buy-back clauses.
Newcastle found that out in the summer when Manchester City were able to re-sign goalkeeper target James Trafford from Burnley for a cut-price deal given the various clauses they had in the deal.
But the pressure Newcastle were under to raise funds immediately in June 2024 meant they had to maximise the up front transfer fee they would receive in order to comply with PSR and avoid a potential Premier League points deduction.
As a result, they received £35million for Anderson and no clauses were inserted into the deal. So, should Anderson be sold on for a significant profit, something that could well happen in the near future, Newcastle won’t get a penny despite bringing the player through their academy and playing a key role in his development.
And if they want to buy the midfielder back, it will be an open market where they have no buy-back or clause advantages.
This was confirmed by Eddie Howe during a press conference.
“It certainly was a rushed deal because we were on the clock and trying to explore every avenue to try and find another way to beat a points deduction,” Howe said. “But in terms of buy-backs, we weren't in a good bargaining position at all, so our strength to negotiate those things was non-existent.”