A sense of pride and achievement should accompany a first call-up to a senior national team yet it planted a seed of doubt in Elliot Anderson. Two years on and that seed has borne fruit for England, while adding to Scotland’s regret.
It was August 2023 when Anderson was named in the Scotland squad for the first time. An international debut beckoned for the youngster from Whitley Bay, who is eligible to play for Scotland through his grandmother, in the following month’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Cyprus and the friendly with England at Hampden Park. “He had a little think about choosing between Scotland and England,” the manager, Steve Clarke, said at the time.“We had some good discussions with the boy and his family and he has chosen to come with us, which is good for us now and certainly good for us in the future.” Anderson would never come good for Scotland, as it transpired.
The midfielder, who had represented the country of his grandmother’s birth from under-16 to under-21 level, reported for Scotland duty but withdrew after one training session. The official explanation was an injury. The truth, he now admits, was somewhat different.
“I went away with the Scotland team and I left camp after a few days and decided I just needed more time to make my decision really,” Anderson says. “I didn’t want to dive into anything, so I’m really thankful I’ve done that now.”
Two years later, and having committed to representing the country of his birth, Anderson is a European Under-21 Championship winner with England and in the senior squad for the first time for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia. His international switch was not simply a case of having second thoughts about Scotland. It was also the realisation that he could make it with England, despite never being selected for their junior ranks. Anderson’s first call-up for England Under-21s came 12 months after he withdrew from Clarke’s Scotland squad. The gamble is paying off.
“I’m definitely English,” he says, with a gentle north-east accent. “That’s where I see myself. It’s just I hadn’t really been called up to England throughout the ages when I was younger so I thought I’d take the opportunity to play [for Scotland]. Then, once I got that belief that I thought I was good enough to play for England, it hit me, and I focused on England.”
Scotland are not the only ones regretting Anderson’s career path. At Newcastle, his commanding form for Nottingham Forest is a constant reminder of what could have been had the homegrown talent not been sacrificed on the altar of Premier League profitability and sustainability rules. His sale for a reported £35m enabled Newcastle to avoid PSR trouble in 2024, but the enforced departure of a local lad who had trained occasionally with Paul Gascoigne when growing up was hard for all concerned.
Anderson says: “It was a tough move at the time but ultimately, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now if I didn’t make the move. Sometimes you’ve got to step out of your comfort zone and believe in yourself, which is what I’ve done. I believed I was ready to go and play in the Premier League every week, and I don’t think I would be in this position now if I didn’t do it.”
The 22-year-old will re-establish the incredible connection between Wallsend Boys Club and the England senior team should he win a first cap at Villa Park on Saturday or in Belgrade on Tuesday. Wallsend luminaries includes Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and Michael Carrick, among many.
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“It’s a top boys club up in the north-east and I think you can see all the professional footballers who have come through Wallsend,” says Anderson. “There hasn’t really been another player to make England for a while so it’s a really proud moment and I’m just hoping I get that cap.”
Anderson was careful at St George’s Park not to be drawn into the delicate matter of Nuno Espírito Santo’s future as Forest manager but said he definitely wanted the 51-year-old to remain in charge. “He’s been really good for me,” he said. “I feel he’s given me the freedom to go out and do what I do. He just believes in me, which is the main thing. He has said go out and play the way you train, which has really helped me. Freedom in the team has given me the platform to do well.”
That freedom contributed to Forest’s unexpected Champions League challenge last season. It was evident again on the opening day of the new campaign when Anderson threaded a sublime pass to Chris Wood for his second goal in the 3-1 win over Brentford. It was an assist Kevin De Bruyne would have been proud to call his own.
“He was my favourite player over the past four or five seasons in the Premier League,” Anderson says. “I was watching him all the time, just his eye for a pass for me. The way he plays, how nice he is to watch, really caught my eye. He was the player I was trying to copy. He’s a top, top player so I’ll be doing something right if I can half copy him.”
