Steve Bruce has confirmed that Elliot Anderson could make his Newcastle United debut against Arsenal after first-team staff 'liked' what they saw from the talented youngster.
Anderson has been training with the senior squad for a little while now and the 18-year-old was named on the bench against Newport County, Crystal Palace and Man City earlier this season.
Bruce intends to treat Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie at the Emirates with the 'respect Arsenal deserve' but the Newcastle head coach will make changes.
Newcastle travel to basement boys Sheffield United in the Premier League on Tuesday and the Magpies, who were recently hit by a COVID-19 outbreak, have just come off a run of seven games in little more than three weeks.
Unsurprisingly, then, Bruce has confirmed that those players 'who have been on the fringes of the first team lately' will all play against the holders.
Martin Dubravka, the club's player of the year last season, will make his first appearance since July after recovering from a heel injury and Anderson may well feature be unleashed at some point n the visitors' midfield.
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"He's been with us for six - eight weeks now and we like what we see," Bruce told reporters on Zoom. "Who knows? He's involved tomorrow. We'll see. He could make his debut tomorrow."
In November, Bruce admitted it was 'inevitable' that Anderson would get his chance 'if he keeps performing' and the Newcastle boss has previously said that the 'talented boy' had 'given us something to be excited about'.
