IT’S been a phenomenal 12 months for Nottingham Forest.
Heading into their first season in a major European competition since 1995-96 after a seventh-place finish last term, there is much optimism around Nuno Espírito Santo’s side.
And with that has come a first England call-up for Elliot Anderson.
Following in the footsteps of Morgan Gibbs-White, who last season became the first Forest player to play for England since 1997, Anderson is more than worthy of his place in Thomas Tuchel’s set-up.
Having joined from Newcastle in 2024, Anderson has instantly become a mainstay of Nottingham Forest’s side.
He has played in 40 of their 41 Premier League games since the start of last season – the joint-most of any outfielder for the club.
| Nottingham Forest – Premier League since 2024-25 | |||
| Player | Apps | Starts | Mins |
| Matz Sels | 41 | 41 | 3690 |
| Nikola Milenkovic | 40 | 40 | 3600 |
| Elliot Anderson | 40 | 36 | 3012 |
| Murillo | 39 | 39 | 3461 |
| Chris Wood | 39 | 38 | 3216 |
| Ola Aina | 38 | 38 | 3273 |
| Neco Williams | 38 | 31 | 2860 |
| Anthony Elanga | 38 | 31 | 2507 |
| Morgan Gibbs-White | 37 | 37 | 3078 |
| Ryan Yates | 37 | 18 | 1912 |
In that time, only Murillo (1,307) has completed more passes for Forest than Anderson (1,274), while on a per 90 basis, the new England midfielder tops the lot.
| Nottingham Forest – Premier League since 2024-25 | |||||
| Player | Mins (1,000+) | Passes | Successful | Successful/90 | Passing Accuracy |
| Elliot Anderson | 3012 | 1528 | 1274 | 38.1 | 83.4% |
| Nicolás Domínguez | 1970 | 927 | 813 | 37.1 | 87.7% |
| Murillo | 3461 | 1629 | 1307 | 34.0 | 80.2% |
| Morgan Gibbs-White | 3078 | 1372 | 1102 | 32.2 | 80.3% |
| Ryan Yates | 1912 | 761 | 630 | 29.7 | 82.8% |
But it’s not just that he is so heavily involved for Forest that stands out, but what he does with the ball is telling too.
Almost a third of his passes are forward, ranking him fourth among all Premier League midfielders since 2024-25 for ratio of passes going towards the opponent’s goal.
| Premier League Midfielders since 2024-25 | |||
| Player | Passes (1,500+) | Forward | % Forward |
| Lucas Paquetá | 1570 | 552 | 35.2% |
| Bruno Guimarães | 1887 | 659 | 34.9% |
| Bruno Fernandes | 2213 | 763 | 34.5% |
| Elliot Anderson | 1528 | 507 | 33.2% |
| Youri Tielemans | 2125 | 663 | 31.2% |
Anderson is mixing it here with some of the most important creative outlets for various Premier League clubs – Lucas Paquetá at West Ham and Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United in particular stand out as shouldering a heavy burden when it comes to creating opportunities. Anderson, along with Gibbs-White, bears much of that for Forest.
Santo’s side are unique, though, in that they don’t tend to have too much of the ball during a match. Among ever-present sides, only Everton (40.7%) average a lower share of possession in the Premier League since 2024-25 than the Tricky Trees (41.9%).
As such, their midfielders, such as Anderson, are required to lift a heavy load off the ball. And here is where he really stands out.
Only three midfielders have made more tackles in the Premier League since the start of last season, and only two have recovered possession more for their sides.
| Premier League Midfielders since 2024-25 | ||||
| Player | Possession Won | Player | Tackles | |
| Moisés Caicedo | 243 | Idrissa Gueye | 139 | |
| Bruno Fernandes | 237 | Moisés Caicedo | 126 | |
| Elliot Anderson | 225 | João Gomes | 123 | |
| João Gomes | 212 | Elliot Anderson | 104 | |
| André | 211 | André | 98 | |
| Alexis Mac Allister | 98 | |||
All-in-all, Anderson has won an astonishing 268 duels across 2024-25 and 2025-26 – the outright most of any Premier League central midfielder.
| Premier League Midfielders since 2024-25 | |||
| Player | Duels | Duels Won | Duel Success |
| Elliot Anderson | 513 | 268 | 52.2% |
| Bruno Guimarães | 508 | 259 | 51.0% |
| Moisés Caicedo | 428 | 254 | 59.3% |
| Idrissa Gueye | 408 | 234 | 57.4% |
| João Gomes | 480 | 224 | 46.7% |
| Lucas Paquetá | 458 | 222 | 48.5% |
A look at where he makes his defensive actions on a pitch map shows just how all-action Anderson is as a midfielder.
Of course, at the highest level, it’s not just about winning the ball, but how you then go on to use it.
We’ve seen Anderson’s importance in terms of his passing for Forest, but combine it with his ability to recover possession, and you can see how multi-faceted his game is.
Indeed, he has started off 159 sequences of possession since the start of last season, and 12 of those have ended in his side having a shot – only four central midfielders can top him for that in this time.
| Premier League Central/Defensive Midfielders since 2024-25 | ||
| Player | Possessions Started | Ending in Shot |
| Moisés Caicedo | 218 | 29 |
| Alexis Mac Allister | 145 | 16 |
| Joelinton | 93 | 15 |
| André | 162 | 14 |
| Carlos Baleba | 171 | 12 |
| Elliot Anderson | 159 | 12 |
| Ryan Christie | 101 | 12 |
His England call-up has been a long time in the making and is a totally justified selection from Tuchel.
Please remember to gamble responsibly. Visit our Safer Gambling section for more information, help and advice.
