Newcastle United are said to be ‘well-placed’ to re-sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest in the summer, but the reality is very different…

Newcastle‘s recent transfer activity is proof that money can’t buy you happiness, with Eddie Howe’s side derailed by Profit & Sustainability rules and their superior Premier League rivals in recent months.

Their 2025 summer transfer window was shambolic from start to finish, with the prolongedAlexander Isaksetting the tone for an incredibly frustrating few months.

Wantaway Isak lingered around like a bad smell until deadline day,with the Magpies risking missing out on a remarkable full XI of potential signingsbefore overpaying to sign Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa.

And the 2026 summer transfer window risks being equally traumatic for Newcastle, who could be left searching for a new manager and replacements for several key players.

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Howe has commented on potentially “stepping down”as Newcastle have only won one of their last nine games, while it is looking increasingly likely that Sandro Tonali is going to leave after his agent clearly tried to get him a move in January.

But former Premier League chief executive Keith Wyness foolishly thinks Newcastle are ‘well-placed to agree a deal’ to re-sign Anderson to replace Tonali in a ‘sensational twist’.

“Well that’s exactly it, it’s having that succession plan ready now in terms of midfield, but you know I think that they’re actually pretty well-placed [to sign Anderson],” Wyness told Football Insider.

“It’d be surprising what they might have to pay to bring Elliot Anderson back having filled that gap. But again, they’re stuck in this whole vice we talked about last week of the SCR formulas and the ability to spend, despite having the richest owners in the world. It’s all been rehearsed and talked about so much, and it seems so unfair.

“But yes, they’ve got to find that midfield solution now. This is why clubs don’t like players moving in January. It does give them this period now to do the research and to get some time in.

“But, I think that certainly if he was to go, at the right price, I think Newcastle and Eddie Howe wouldn’t mind actually refreshing the squad and the ages in that midfield and get things moving again.

“They’ve still got some work to do in that squad in Newcastle, certainly I think at both ends of the pitch and in the midfield. So I think that that would be something they need to address. But I think they’ve got to start thinking about life without Tonali for sure.”

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Anderson’s affiliation with Newcastle as a former academy product gives them a helping hand for a potential return,but they still have very little chance of beating Man Utd or Man City to the ￡100m-rated ‘Manchester-bound’ star.

Last summer made it clear where the Magpies, despite their vast wealth, stand in the pecking order, as they were beaten to priority signings by Chelsea, Liverpool, Man Utd, Man City, and Tottenham, and the events of this season mean they are no more likely to pull off coups this summer.

They simply do not have the same pull as the traditional Big Six, especially without Champions League football, so Anderson will ultimately end up at Man Utd or City, while fellow ￡100m-rated midfielder Tonali will inevitably be lured elsewhere too after the seeds of his exit were planted in January.

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