Newcastle United could do with an injection of positivity after the November international break, having slumped their way down to 14th place in the Premier League after 11 matches.

Gone is the easy fluency of last season, and Eddie Howe has a task on his hands to rekindle the spark at the heart of his Tyneside squad.

While the impending return of Yoane Wissa from injury will add that extra dimension in attack, Howe will be concerned that this current international pause might inflict injury on one of his players in a similar fashion to when Wissa damaged his knee back in September, before he had even kicked a ball for the Toon.

No such bad news at the moment, though watching England defeat Serbia in their penultimate World Cup qualifier has issued a sombre reminder that PIF must do all that they can to bring Elliot Anderson back to St. James’ Park. How about that for an injection of positivity?

The latest on Newcastle's interest in Elliot Anderson

Anderson, 23, left Newcastle for Nottingham Forest in 2024, arriving at the City Ground after a fee in the region of £35m had been agreed.

How PIF must regret that PSR-influenced decision, with Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel recently hailing Anderson as being “one of the best midfielders in the Premier League” before his latest performance alongside Declan Rice, impressing as England claimed a professional 2-0 win.

So combative, cultured and composed in the middle of the park, the Tyneside-born talent never managed to spread his wings for his boyhood club, but he has made such impressive progress since leaving and forging his own path.

Howe, it should go without saying, would love nothing more than to bring Anderson back home, having expressed last month how the sale “didn’t sit right with me”, and intimating his desire to strike a transfer down the line.

It won’t be easy, though; far from it. Anderson’s all-encompassing qualities in the engine room have been picked up by some of the Premier League’s finest, with Arsenal and Manchester United among those looking to complete a deal for the £100m-rated midfielder.

Whether Newcastle manage to bring him back is anyone’s guess, but they must not let the same thing happen again, especially when there’s a new Geordie talent looking to break into the first team.

The Newcastle talent who could be bigger than Anderson

Newcastle will look for ways to bring Anderson back to St. James’ Park, but sadly there is no certainty that they will win the race for his signature.

That’s why they must prove they have learned from their blunder and ensure Sean Neave has a clear pathway from the academy to the first team.

The 18-year-old has been prolific right from the get-go this season, and his mature, confident displays are beginning to see a level of noise rise around him, with Howe sure to be considering handing him a professional breakthrough before long, should the right opportunity arrive.

While Neave hasn’t featured for the senior side yet, he was involved in Newcastle’s pre-season preparations this summer and is clearly viewed as having the potential to wedge his way into the fray.

Moreover, he was this week awarded an award during the annual Sport Newcastle ceremony for ’embodying the Newcastle spirit’, with Dan Burn taking the cake for the men’s team.

Though it’s a big leap from the world of development football to the major stage, Neave is nothing if not clinical, with an ease and accuracy in the final third that should lend itself to success in the Premier League for the seniors, albeit with physicality and maturity further elements that must be woven into the youngster’s game.

But given that he’s only just entered adulthood, there is every reason for United fans to get excited by this one. Magpie Media have already described him as “the best Geordie striker prospect in a long, long time”, after all.

If Neave reaches even the rim of what his potential suggests is possible, there’s every chance that Newcastle could have an even bigger talent than Anderson on their hands, and one who must not be allowed to leave for new pastures before being handed a shot at the big time.

Newcastle have already paid for that mistake, and they may pay more still if they succeed in re-signing Anderson. That would be a rousing transfer for the club, but one which would come at what could have been an avoidable financial cost.

Lighting surely won’t strike twice. Neave’s goalscoring efforts for the development teams underscore his quality and the importance of easing him into the first-team action under Howe’s wing.

Newcastle U18

37

21 (7)

Newcastle U21

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9 (4)

Newcastle YL

9

2 (1)

Newcastle

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With a brace netted against Burnley last week, Neave is finding his feet for the U21s, and it’s surely only a matter of time until he is unleashed in the Premier League, just searching for that extra steel in his physicality to prove he’s every bit as talented as Anderson, maybe even more so.

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