Elliot is not the new Gazza... we must let him do things his own way

CARVER GUARDS AGAINST COMPARISON

- By LEE RYDER Chief Newcastle writer [e-mail]

JOHN Carver has warned that comparing Elliot Anderson with a young Paul Gascoigne could be dangerous.

Gazza proved to be a Geordie genius at Italia 90 when he soared to world fame with Anderson hoping to light up the World Cup stage in America, Canada and Mexico in 2026.

Anderson has similarities to Gazza and will be looking for the No 8 shirt the Geordie legend used to pull on for the Three Lions.

Like Gazza, Anderson was a local lad who rose through the youth system at Newcastle United before being sold for a club record fee. Gascoigne was shipped to Tottenham Hotspur for £2.2million in 1988 while Anderson's sale, forced by the threat of a PSR deduction, earned Newcastle £35m.

Carver meticulously scouted Anderson as a youngster at Newcastle and recommended that he should have been capped in 2022, just after a loan stint with Bristol Rovers.

He was eventually called up by the Scots a year later for a Euro qualifier against Cyprus, only to get cold feet and leave the camp knowing a single second of action in a competitive game would slam the door on his England dream forever.

Anderson will look to help England take a step closer to the World Cup against Latvia in Riga tonight - and Carver hopes he is allowed to do things his way.