Newcastle United continued their fine form in 2022 as they beat Leicester 2-1 at St. James' Park in the Premier League last Sunday.

The Magpies are now 12 points clear of the relegation zone and have only lost three of their last 14 matches in the division.

They have flown clear of the bottom three and look set for another year in the top flight, which means that Eddie Howe can begin to think about what he wants to do with his squad next term.

This includes potentially bringing some of the club's talented academy players up through the ranks and one player who is a prime candidate to make the breakthrough is Elliot Anderson.

David Ginola 2.0

In Anderson, Howe can find his own Ginola for the Toon as he also has ability to produce magic on the pitch.

ITV claimed that the former Spurs man had a "magical touch" on the pitch and he displayed that whilst at St. James' Park. The French attacker played 76 games for the club and provided seven goals and 16 assists on Tyneside.

Ginola was superb in the final third and Anderson has the potential to come through and have a similar level of impact at the top end of the pitch. He has already been dubbed the "Geordie Maradona" and impressed the coaching staff on Tyneside.

Magpies assistant manager Jason Tindall heaped praise on him earlier this year, saying: “He’s certainly a bright talent from what we’ve seen on the training ground. He’s got very good potential.
“We’re very fortunate here, at this football club, to have some very, very good attacking players. There’s a lot of competition in the attacking areas.
“So far, what we’ve seen with Elliot, is that he’s shown really good signs for the future.”

He joined Bristol Rovers on loan in January and he has been a revelation for the League Two outfit.

In 18 games, he has averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.07 and been directly involved in nine goals with six strikes and three assists from midfield - including three goals in his last three games. Anderson has created six 'big chances' and provided 1.5 key passes per game as he has been able to showcase his creative talent.

Whilst these statistics have been racked up in the Football League, his form shows that he has the potential to play at a higher level as he is producing excellent performances at the age of 19.

He has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and Howe has the chance to work with him on the training pitch to turn him into his own magical genius in midfield - a Ginola 2.0.

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