Newcastle United midfielder only signed as 'plan B' option in January

Here is today’s NUFC round-up…

Joe Willock a doubt for Wolves

Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock is a doubt for Friday’s match at home to Wolves (8pm kick-off).

According to Mail Online, the 22-year-old picked up a knee injury following Sunday’s 5-1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur and will have to be assessed by the club.

Should Willock not be passed fit to start, it is likely that Bruno Guimaraes will be handed his full home debut by head coach Eddie Howe.

Elliot Anderson only a ‘plan B’ for Bristol Rovers

Newcastle United midfielder Elliot Anderson has been a revelation since joining Bristol Rovers in his first ever loan move back in January.

The 19-year-old has impressed ex-Magpie and Rovers boss Joey Barton since his arrival at the League Two side.

Anderson has scored three goals and assisted a further three in 15 appearances for The Gas so far.

Eddie Howe has claimed Anderson should be playing at a higher level than League Two but getting regular matches is the priority.

And Bristol boss Barton admitted that the deadline day acquisition of Anderson only came about because another deal had fallen through.

“As a manager you get focused on target one and let’s take that off the board and you start making plans for that,” Barton told Bristol World.

"They say hang on, if that doesn’t happen, we need to be protected and take B and believe it or not, Elliot was Plan B. Sometimes you need a bit of luck because Plan A definitely wasn’t as good as Plan B.”

Alan Shearer returns to the Gallowgate

Less than a month on from the return of Shearer’s Bar to the Gallowgate End at St James's Park, Alan Shearer himself was back inside Newcastle United's home ground on Wednesday.

Shearer watched his boyhood club from the Gallowgate as a youngster before going on to score 206 goals in 405 appearances for The Magpies.

He also had a brief stint as manager before pursuing a media career.

The 51-year-old posted a picture of himself inside St James’s Park on Instagram with the caption: “Haven’t stood in the Gallowgate for a good few years! A nice day filming for Premier League TV.”

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