EDDIE Howe reiterated his regret at the summer sale of Elliot Anderson and has backed the former Newcastle United youngster to go on and play for England in the future after his stunning start to life at Nottingham Forest.

Anderson has been one of the shining lights in the Premier League in the early stages of the campaign and Forest have lost only one of the 10 games the 22-year-old has played.

Anderson's form at the City Ground has come as no surprise whatsoever to his former boss, who was desperate to keep the midfielder on Tyneside in the summer, only for the Magpies to be forced to cash in to ensure they didn't fall foul of the Premier League's profit and sustainability regulations.

Anderson, too, was keen to stay at the club he's supported all of his life but Howe reluctantly accepts the move to Forest has worked out well.

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And Howe also warned that Newcastle could well be forced into similar unwanted sales in the future with the rules as they currently are.

"Elliot is a sale we didn't want to make," said Howe.

"Nobody wanted to make that sale but we had to. It's an unusual place because I think that will be happening again, not just here but at other clubs, selling players for financial reasons.

"It's not something that has been done in the history of the game unless you're under restrictions. Having the backing but having to sell because of the rules is a new one.

"I don't think he wanted to leave a club he came through and is very attached to emotionally.

"Sometimes it can be good for both parties. We needed the deal to happen and Elliot saw it as an opportunity to go to a really good progressive football club and to play potentially more regularly, as you say.

"He's certainly reaping the rewards of those games. I've watched a lot of him and he's done really well. To no surprise to us, we're looking at him saying that's the player we saw for us at the back end of last season when he played a lot.

"He's got goals, assists and products to his game."

Howe remains frustrated by the regulations that lead to clubs having to cash in on their own academy products, as was the case with Anderson.

He said: "Like I’ve said before I don’t understand the rationale. I don’t understand why we’re in a position to incentivise selling academy products. I don’t necessarily think they started with that intention of forcing teams to make those decisions. So for us to put all the work into Elliot, the academy, the coaches, the time, to then see him leave and flourish for another Premier League club is something that we feel we should be in a position to do."

Anderson has been at the centre of some international uncertainty in the last couple of years, with the midfielder eligible to represent both Scotland and England. But after a tug-of-war between the nations, Anderson is now set on playing for England - and Howe believes a senior call-up is a matter of when rather than if.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, in my opinion," said the Newcastle boss.

"I remember having many conversations with Elliot about his international future, because that was slightly up in the air. For me, he should set his dreams and his aims very high, because it was obvious he had the ability to get to wherever he wanted to go. England is a big aim for him and I see that in his future, definitely."

Anderson isn't the only familiar face Newcastle will come up against on Sunday, with former Toon striker Chris Wood in blistering form for Forest.

Only Erling Haaland has scored more goals than Wood, and although the striker was never prolific on Tyneside, Howe isn't surprised by his dazzling form

He said: "I'm delighted for Chris on a personal level. It was never lost on me how well he played for us. He often did everything but score.

"He was so important in that first season. The work he did, the unseen work. His teammates will say he was one of the reasons we changed our position in the league. He didn't get the goals that elevated his performance butut he was very selfless and team orientated."

Wood left Newcastle initially on loan in January last year before making the Forest switch permanent.

Howe said: "Chris was slightly different [to Elliot] because we were thinking of Chris. We had Alex [Isak] and Callum [Wilson] three experienced strikers who wanted to play.

"Chris wanted the opportunity to play week in, week out and we reluctantly agreed. You have to sell players and trade."