Soccer Football - Carabao Cup Third Round - Newcastle United v Crystal Palace - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - November 9, 2022 Crystal Palace's Jordan Ayew and Tyrick Mitchell in action with Newcastle United's Elliot Anderson REUTERS/Scott Heppell EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
George Caulkin believes that Elliot Anderson could be in line for more Newcastle United appearances during the second half of the season.
The Lowdown: A chance to impress
Over the summer, Eddie Howe was left very impressed with Anderson and how he was performing in pre-season as well as the early stages of the campaign – but he’s still yet to start a league game.
The academy graduate will have been hoping for more opportunities under Howe this season after impressing last time out on loan with Bristol Rovers when he helped them earn promotion on the final day of the campaign.
However, Howe clearly rates the young midfielder as he didn’t want to lose him on loan during the January transfer window, and following the departure of Jonjo Shelvey and Bruno Guimaraes now serving a three-game suspension, he could be in line for more minutes.
The Latest: Anderson may be handed more minutes
Caulkin has claimed on the latest episode of Pod on the Tyne that Anderson could soon be handed more meaningful minutes due to a sheer lack of options for Howe to call upon in midfield.
He said: “There is also Elliot Anderson, I think that’s something important to kind of point out as well. I think they’re putting their faith in him to a certain extent now moving forward, in the sense he will now get more of a chance and we’ll get to see whether he is the player that we hope he can be.”
Does Anderson deserve more minutes?
Yes!
No!
The Verdict: Howe has to show faith in Anderson
This would now appear to be the perfect opportunity for Howe to see what Anderson is capable of, as he only has three senior first-team members capable of playing in the centre of midfield, leaving Anderson as his next option off the bench.
The fact that Howe decided against moving for a midfielder in January would suggest he indeed does have a lot of faith in Anderson to do a job in the Premier League if called upon, which should be a huge confidence boost for the youngster.
During pre-season, Howe insisted that Anderson had a ‘very bright future‘ with the Magpies, and now is his chance to show that, as he’s not been handed significant minutes for a long time now with just brief cameos off the bench being the best he could hope for.
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