Anthony Gordon sent three-word message after Newcastle United meeting & £35m transfer decision

The Whitley Bay-born midfielder faced the Magpies for the first time since being reluctantly sold to Nottingham Forest for £35million. The Magpies needed to raise funds before June 30 to comply with Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), and it was Anderson & Yankuba Minteh who were sacrificed.

After making his first Forest start in their 1-0 win at Southampton on Saturday, Anderson was handed his full debut at the City Ground. Joe Willock opened the scoring just 18 seconds in before his withdrawal in the 15th minute disrupted Newcastle. The home side deservedly levelled through Jota Silva and the tie needed to be decided by penalties.

Joelinton saw his spot-kick saved by goalkeeper Carlos Miguel but fortunately for the Brazilian it didn’t cost his side after Ibrahim Sangare and Taiwo Awoniyi failed to hit the target with their efforts. United won the shootout 4-3 and face League Two outfit AFC Wimbledon away in the next round.

Reflecting on the evening, Anderson wrote on Instagram: “A night full of mixed emotions but enjoyed every moment. Unlucky to not progress to the next round. Good to see some familiar faces and thanks to everyone for their support.”

Among the Newcastle players to reply to Anderson were Willock and Matt Targett. Willock said: “Great to see you my boy” while Targett said: “Some player the boy.”

Anderson was spotted in conversation with the likes of Anthony Gordon, Sean Longstaff and Targett pre-match, while the travelling fans could be heard chanting “Geordie Maradona” on a couple of occasions.

Before heading back to the dressing room at full-time, the former Bristol Rovers loanee was videoed having a quick glance over the away end as Newcastle staff and players celebrated the win.

The 21-year-old added: “Thank you for the reception Geordies, it means a lot.” He also shared a photo with Gordon, captioned “miss you brother”.

Gordon revealed Anderson was among his best friends in football during an interview with The Overlap earlier this year.