Anderson wants to keep following in grandfather's footsteps after signing new contract

Outside-left Geoff Allen was part of United's legendary Inter-Cities Fairs Cup-winning squad of 1968/69, having become one of the Magpies' youngest ever players when he made his debut against Norwich City at St. James' Park in April 1964.

And on Friday, his 18th birthday, Anderson - the son of Allen's daughter, Helen, and her husband Iain, a well-known junior football coach in North Tyneside - put pen to paper on a new contract, having signed his first professional deal shortly after turning 17. It was a reward for an impressive 12 months for a youngster who only made his debut for Newcastle's under-23 side in September 2019 but has since become a key part of Chris Hogg's second-string set-up as well as progressing to the fringes of the first team.

Anderson has regularly trained with Steve Bruce's squad in recent weeks and was named on the bench for the Carabao Cup tie at Newport County in September. His grandfather was just 17 when he broke into the United team and while his career was sadly curtailed by injury when he was 23 (he later had two spells as a coach with the club), he was an England youth international who helped Newcastle to win the second division title in 1965 before writing his name indelibly into the club's history as part of the Fairs Cup squad, with his performance in the club's first ever European fixture against Feyenoord still talked about by those fortunate enough to have witnessed it.

"You just want to sort of try and carry it on," Anderson told nufc.co.uk. "He got injured quite early which was a shame, but it gives you that bit more motivation to do it.

"Every kid's dream is to play for Newcastle - and it's mine too, so hopefully I can be successful with it."

A former Wallsend Boys Club player, Anderson joined the Magpies' Academy at the age of eight and, a decade on, is able to reflect with pride on the steps he's made so far, particularly - despite the Covid-19 pandemic - over the last few months.

"It's been a good year for me," he said. "I started in the under-23s; I think I did well scored quite a few goals - and then lockdown came so that sort of knacked it up! But since then, I've been down here (at the first team Training Centre) which is great.

"It's a challenge, obviously, every day coming in and playing with really good players. You've got to be very fast when you're thinking because it is a lot faster, but you've just got to try and match it.

"The first training session was a few weeks ago and I was a bit nervous, and when I was on the bench I was nervous in case I came on.

"I was travelling down on the bus to play for the under-23s, and it just popped up on my phone (that he would be involved for the first team in South Wales) so I got a bit of a shock!

"Just to be involved was mint. You get to see what it's like in the changing room - I'm used to just watching it from the stands with my mates, so being in and around it was really good."

Although he hails from Whitley Bay, Anderson has been capped at youth level by Scotland and having finished last season with six goals for United's under-23s, he has already scored two goals in three Premier League 2 appearances this term.

"I like to dribble and make good passes and try to get into the box and score," he said. "I feel like I'm scoring quite a few goals at the minute, which is quite important."

He is set to play for the under-23s against their Leeds United counterparts on his birthday, and knows he still has a lot of hard work ahead of him, but when asked what he hopes to have achieved by the time his new contract expires, his answer was simple.

"To be in the first team - to be in the starting XI, really," he replied. "If I keep on doing the right things, hopefully I can get that."