Manchester City have moved ahead of Manchester United in the chase for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, with sources at the City Ground indicating Pep Guardiola’s side have opened formal discussions over a deal that could exceed £60 million this summer.
Anderson, 23, has emerged as one of the Premier League’s most coveted central midfielders following a season in which the England international made 36 league appearances, contributed five goals and seven assists, and ranked inside the division’s top ten for progressive carries per 90 minutes. Forest, who finished eighth and missed out on European football on the final day, are braced for a summer of bids and accept that retaining the former Newcastle academy graduate beyond the transfer window will be difficult.
City step up the pursuit
City’s interest hardened in the closing weeks of the campaign as Guardiola began restructuring a midfield that has lost its rhythm since Rodri’s anterior cruciate ligament injury in September. Mateo Kovacic turns 32 this month, Ilkay Gundogan’s future remains uncertain after a stop-start return, and Bernardo Silva continues to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Anderson, two-footed and capable of operating as a left-sided eight or a deeper controller, is viewed as the profile City have lacked: a midfielder who can carry through pressure and arrive in the box.
Txiki Begiristain’s successor as sporting director, Hugo Viana, is understood to have held exploratory talks with Anderson’s representatives last week. City are prepared to structure an offer around an initial £55m fee with add-ons that would take the total package beyond £62m, a figure that would set a club record for an English midfielder. Forest’s valuation sits closer to £70m, reflecting both the player’s age and a contract that runs until 2029.
United, who had positioned Anderson as a priority target under new sporting director Jason Wilcox, have not withdrawn but face a harder sell. The absence of Champions League football, combined with profit and sustainability rules that forced the sale of Scott McTominay last summer, has complicated their pitch. Ruben Amorim’s staff held a presentation with Anderson’s camp in April, but the player is said to be drawn to City’s project and the prospect of working under Guardiola.
How Anderson became this summer’s most-wanted
Anderson’s rise has been rapid. Released by Newcastle in 2024 in a £35m deal that helped the Magpies comply with PSR, his first season at Forest was disrupted by a back injury that limited him to 19 league starts. The 2025-26 campaign told a different story. Under Nuno Espirito Santo, and latterly Marco Silva, Anderson became Forest’s metronome, completing more passes in the opposition half than any team-mate and registering the third-highest tackle count among Premier League midfielders aged under 25.
His England breakthrough followed in November, when Thomas Tuchel handed him a debut against Greece. Anderson has since started four of England’s last six fixtures and is regarded by Tuchel’s staff as a strong contender for the 2026 World Cup squad. The numbers behind the hype are consistent:
- 92.4% pass completion in his own half, the highest of any Forest outfield player
- 2.6 progressive passes into the final third per 90 minutes
- 1.9 tackles plus interceptions per 90, ranking him in the top quartile for Premier League No. 8s
- Five goals from outside the area, the joint-most by a midfielder under 24
Newcastle inserted a 17.5% sell-on clause when they sanctioned the move two years ago. Any sale at the figures being discussed would deliver more than £10m back to St James’ Park, a quirk that has not escaped notice on Tyneside, where supporters continue to lament the original decision.
What it means going forward
For City, securing Anderson would mark the most expensive midfield acquisition of the Guardiola era and signal a clear generational pivot. The Catalan, whose contract runs to 2027, has spent the past 12 months recalibrating a squad whose average age crept above 28 last season. Anderson would join Savinho, Vitor Reis and the incoming Tijjani Reijnders in a younger spine.
For United, missing on a second domestic target in successive windows, after Bruno Guimaraes opted to stay at Newcastle in January, would intensify scrutiny on Wilcox and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s recruitment department. Amorim is expected to redirect resources towards a No. 6, with Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand back on the shortlist.
Forest, meanwhile, will use any incoming fee to fund Silva’s first full summer. Talks over a new contract for Anderson were paused in March. Barring a late twist, those negotiations are unlikely to resume.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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