Introducing Elliot Anderson

The teenage midfielder has been training with Steve Bruce's first team squad for the past few weeks and was an unused substitute in September's Carabao Cup tie at Newport County and, after impressing at under-23 level, finds himself on the cusp of making his Premier League debut for his boyhood club.

Although hailing from Whitley Bay, Anderson is a representative of Scotland at under-19 level and after finishing last season with six goals for United's under-23s, he has already scored three goals in five Premier League 2 appearances this term as well as two goals in three Papa John’s Trophy clashes.

He penned a new long-term deal on his 18th birthday and has been with the Magpies from the age of eight having previously played for the renowned Wallsend Boys Club.

The highly-rated youngster 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 will be aiming to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, Geoff Allen, who played as a winger for the Magpies during the 1960s and was part of the squad which won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969.

"It's a challenge, obviously, every day coming in and playing with really good players,” Anderson told nufc.co.uk earlier this month. “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 (against Newport County) 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."