Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has confirmed youngster Elliot Anderson will be remaining at St James' Park beyond the summer at this point, speaking in his pre-match press conference to Chronicle Live.

The 19-year-old impressed many clubs during his short stint at Bristol Rovers last season, joining Joey Barton's side in January and recording eight goals and five assists in 21 league appearances.

He was particularly crucial for the Gas during their final league game of the season against Scunthorpe United and was an integral figure in getting his former loan side back to the third tier at the first time of asking.

These performances put several clubs on high alert with the teenager being linked with a fresh move away from Tyneside for much of the summer, with Coventry City, Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion just three teams that expressed an interest in him early on.

However, they were to be joined by the likes of Bristol City, Luton Town, Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley and Huddersfield Town, with Vincent Kompany's side being linked with him even after The Telegraph reported that he wouldn't be leaving St James' Park.

And Howe has confirmed the Magpies' current stance on the youngster after seeing him shine with the first team during this pre-season as he spoke yesterday.

He said: "As we stand, right now, he's not going anywhere."

The Verdict:

You can't blame Howe for wanting to keep one of his best young assets in the building because he can then make a first-hand judgement on whether he should be regularly involved with the Magpies this season or not.

If he isn't, then a loan deal in January could be beneficial once more and he has already shown enough in the fourth tier to take two steps up to the second tier, so there won't be a shortage of teams interested in him if he does become available.

Looking at some of the interested sides including West Brom, there are no guarantees he will be able to force his way into the starting lineup and retain his place there, so it may not be such a bad idea to keep him at St James' Park after all.

If he remains with the first-team squad, he will be training with some world class players and that can only be beneficial for his development before Howe makes a further assessment regarding the youngster's best next steps.

Spending a full season in the second tier could be valuable too though and this is why it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Magpies' boss change his mind before the end of the month.