Ex-Newcastle United star hails 'fantastic' £35m signing following Howe's 'uncomfortable' transfer admission

Newcastle United’s battle with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations forced a number of difficult decisions from the St James Park hierarchy.

With the deadline rapidly closing in on the final weekend of last month, there were reports suggesting the Magpies had considered the sales of star forwards Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak as a last resort in a bid to avoid falling foul of similar punishments to those handed out to Everton and Nottingham Forest last season. The £100m duo were retained but the Magpies did authorise the sales of Gambian winger Yankuba Minteh and academy product Elliot Anderson to Brighton and Hove Albion and Nottingham Forest respectively as the coffers were swelled with over £70m.

Crucially, any danger of a sizeable points deduction was avoided and the Magpies will now focus their attention on improving Eddie Howe’s squad ahead of the new Premier League season. The United boss assessed the situation earlier this week and admitted the club had lost a player he loved after being put in a ‘very difficult position’.

He told BBC Newcastle: "PSR was tight, it was very late. Very sad to lose Yankuba Minteh and Elliot, two outstanding young players. I would loved to have kept them, two outstanding players, really disappointed to lose them both but I think we were backed into a corner. We were in a very difficult position. Elliot was very sad for us because he was a player that we loved. Everyone here at Newcastle has worked so hard to develop him and his talents. Through PSR the club has been forced into a decision. It didn’t sit comfortably with me but we had no choice."

The move to the City Ground will see Anderson reunited with former Magpies team-mate Chris Wood, who made a permanent move to Forest last summer after spending the second half of the previous season on loan with the two-time European Cup winners. Wood came back to haunt his old club when he scored a hat-trick in their surprise Boxing Day win at St James Park and scored 15 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions last season.

The New Zealand international has been enthused by Forest’s move for Anderson as they took advantage of United’s battle with profit and sustainability regulations and believes his former team-mate will make an impact during his first season with his new club.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the former Magpies striker said: “I knew Elliot from Newcastle, he was there and he was highly thought of up there. I think the Newcastle fanbase were sad to see him go but we are lucky to have him. He’s a fantastic player, a hardworking box-to-box midfielder with an eye for goal and talent in both feet. He’s going to fit right in with our squad and the other couple of signings we’ve made have fit in really well as well. It’s nice to have some good additions to our team.”

United will face Wood and Anderson when they travel to the City Ground in a fixture that is currently scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 9.