Elliot Anderson must get England call - Thomas Tuchel can’t ignore him now

The opening weekend of the season is a brave time to lay claim to witnessing the assist of the season, but Elliot Anderson’s beautifully weighted through-ball for Chris Wood’s second goal in Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win against Brentford will certainly take some beating between now and May.

The half-time whistle was fast approaching, Anderson primed to pounce on Sepp van den Berg’s loose pass. As ever, though, the Forest midfielder was not content with merely regaining possession; his instinct was to look up, look forward, spear the opposition.

Wood later admitted that the only other team-mate for whom he would have made that run is Morgan Gibbs-White. Anderson “sees things that aren’t always there”, the Forest striker said — and the pass into Wood’s path, first-time, with an opponent bearing down on him, was a moment of remarkable vision, poise and precision.

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Is there an English midfielder in the Premier League with a broader skillset than Anderson? Declan Rice would no doubt have a thing or two to say about the answer to that question. Fortunately for the Arsenal midfielder, then, this is not a column arguing that Anderson should fill Rice’s boots in England’s midfield; it is a column arguing that no player’s profile is better suited to playing alongside him.

Thomas Tuchel can perhaps be forgiven for overlooking Anderson, 22, in the early months of his England reign, but he must have been impressed by the former Newcastle United midfielder’s displays for England’s Under-21 European champions during the summer, for whom Anderson was arguably the standout performer, appearing in every game, scoring in the quarter-final against Spain and earning a place in Uefa’s team of the tournament.

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After a commanding start to the new season, a call-up for England’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia next month should not even be in doubt — and there is no reason why Anderson should not be aiming for a place in Tuchel’s starting XI.

Tuchel must have been impressed by Anderson’s England Under-21 showings this summer EDDIE KEOGH – THE FA/THE FA VIA GETTY IMAGES

After all, who among Tuchel’s options offers the same rare blend of physicality and guile? Who else couples Anderson’s nose for danger and snap in the tackle with an unerring capacity to spring attacks with incisive, line-splitting passes and surging forward runs?

Anderson is a warrior, yet he can sweep the ball around the canvas of the pitch with an artist’s brush. His talents are not easily captured by numbers and data, given that Forest’s share of possession last season (40.8 per cent) was the third-lowest in the league, and that Nuno Espírito Santo’s side barely pressed opponents until they entered Forest’s half.

Yet from watching Forest’s opening two games of the season, there are perhaps signs of an evolution in their play and no player played more progressive passes, line-breaking passes or passes into the final third than Anderson across the Premier League’s opening two weekends.

Anderson was sold by Newcastle, much to the chagrin of their fans, to comply with PSR rules ALAMY

Bristol Rovers fans still fondly remember a loan to the League Two club in 2021-22, when he was christened the “Geordie Maradona” after a series of dazzling performances, including an 85th-minute strike on the final day of the season that sealed automatic promotion in dramatic style.

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Newcastle fans are still saddened — and angered — by the fact that the former Wallsend Boys Club graduate, who hails from Whitley Bay and was nurtured by their academy from the age of eight, had to be sold to comply with the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Regulations.

The transfer in June 2024, which essentially valued the player at £35million, already looks like grand larceny and, while it was a wrench to leave his boyhood club, Anderson has flourished at the City Ground in a way he may not have been allowed to at St James’ Park — and to such an extent that more vaunted suitors are already circling.

He may not have a stellar name or play for one of England’s grandest institutions — not yet, anyway — but he was a crucial cog in a team who spent much of last season flirting with the Premier League’s top four, battling to gatecrash the elite. Forest eventually ran out of steam and finished seventh, but Nuno’s side were one of the most tactically disciplined teams in the country.

And discipline is what England will need when the real tests arrive at next summer’s World Cup. England’s midfield balance has been the subject of much debate for longer than one would care to remember, of course, but Anderson can bridge England’s need for protection and creativity in a way no other obvious candidates can.

Of Tuchel’s options to partner Rice, Jude Bellingham is the leading candidate, of course, and selecting the Real Madrid star in midfield comes with the added benefit of easing another headache, namely who among England’s phalanx of uber-talented No10s is left on the bench.

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Bellingham’s industry and drive and bite in the tackle are unparalleled, but his natural instinct is to attack the box, create and score goals; defensive discipline will be crucial for whoever plays alongside Rice, particularly when you consider that Rice is also suppressing attacking instincts to fulfil a more defensive role for his country.

Tuchel has already experimented with inverted full backs such as James and Myles Lewis-Skelly, right, to complement Rice, left MICHAEL REGAN – THE FA/THE FA VIA GETTY IMAGES

Curtis Jones? The Liverpool midfielder was selected alongside Rice in Tuchel’s first game, the 2-0 win over Albania in March, but is also more suited to the role of box-crashing No8. Conor Gallagher started in England’s humbling 3-1 defeat by Senegal in June. But after a positive start to life in Madrid last season, the former Chelsea captain has spent almost as much time on Atletico’s bench as he has on the pitch.

Then there’s Jordan Henderson, whose experience and leadership are highly valued by Tuchel, but God help the England head coach if he selects the ageing Brentford midfielder over some of the talent England now possess. Crystal Palace fans reading this will no doubt be screaming out the name of Adam Wharton by now, but I would argue that Anderson is more physically robust and sure-footed defensively, with a similar range of vision and passing.

Tuchel has already experimented with inverted full backs too, of course, with Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly, Chelsea’s Reece James and Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold all capable of stepping into midfield in the build-up phase, buttressing England’s resting defensive shape.

Honing a finely calibrated system like that in international football, however, is a challenge few head coaches have successfully achieved given how limited time with the players is on the training pitch.

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So, why not put a square peg in a square hole? Why not give Anderson the chance to show the nation what the City Ground already knows?

Anderson is an England player, waiting for the call.

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