West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a blow to their chances of securing a potential summer swoop for Newcastle United attacker Elliot Anderson.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from The Telegraph, Magpies manager Eddie Howe has decided behind the scenes that he would prefer the youngster to remain at St James’ Park this summer rather than join another club on loan.
With Anderson being linked with numerous clubs across England and Scotland, including the Baggies, this latest update will surely be a devastating blow for those prospective suitors.
Having scored 31 goals in 77 appearances across Newcastle’s youth teams and Bristol Rovers, where he spent the second half of last season on loan, it’s safe to say that Albion would have added an exciting attacking figure to their squad if the Toon were willing to let him leave.
In 21 appearances for Rovers last season, the 19-year-old racked up eight goals and five assists, along with delivering 32 crosses and taking the third-highest number of shots at goal in the squad (74).
Even from a defensive point of view, he managed to show how useful he can be – he ended his time with the Pirates having made seven interceptions and won 23 tackles.
A big blow for West Brom
Bearing in mind how the Baggies weren’t always particularly clinical in front of goal in last season’s Championship, ending the campaign with the lowest rate for shots on target in the division (29.1%), having a player like the Toon prodigy in their squad would have surely made them a much more potent side in terms of goalscoring.
With all this in mind, it’s safe to say that it would be a devastating blow to see the Baggies miss out on signing Anderson this summer.
Are you disappointed by this news?
If the Premier League club are set to keep hold of Anderson for the upcoming campaign, West Brom will have to focus on adding another attacking player to their squad if Bruce still feels the need to do so.
Taking into account how the Midlands club saw Andy Carroll leave The Hawthorns at the end of last season and have since missed out on signing Dwight Gayle after he was linked with a move to the Midlands, the Baggies may need to get a move on if they want to add more depth to their attack as the 2022/23 campaign kicks off this coming weekend.
AND in other news: Bruce could unearth Gallagher 2.0 with West Brom bid for “immense” £13k-p/w sensation
