City move closer to signing their main midfield target
Manchester City have struck an agreement with Nottingham Forest to sign Elliot Anderson for £116m, a fee that would make him the most expensive British player in history.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis had previously made it clear that any sale of Anderson would need to come close to the level of last summer’s biggest Premier League deals. Liverpool paid £125m to bring Alexander Isak from Newcastle, and Forest wanted any offer for Anderson to reflect his rapid rise and importance to the club.
The England midfielder is expected to undergo his medical in the United States within the next 24 hours, as he is currently there with the national team at the World Cup.
Anderson had interest from Manchester United as well, but his preference was always to join City. The Etihad club had already seen two offers rejected before finally reaching an agreement for the 23-year-old.
Anderson leaves Forest after two strong seasons
Anderson joined Nottingham Forest from Newcastle for £35m and quickly became one of the club’s most valuable players. Across two seasons at the City Ground, he played a major role in Forest finishing seventh in the Premier League and reaching the Europa League semi-finals.
His club performances also pushed him into the England setup. Since making his senior debut last September, Anderson has become a regular option for Thomas Tuchel and has already won 11 caps.
At the current World Cup, he started England’s first two matches against Croatia and Ghana, further underlining his rise at international level.
Forest are already looking at possible replacements. Lucas Bergvall is on their shortlist, with talks held over a possible £45m move from Tottenham. The Sweden midfielder is open to leaving Spurs, although Forest are expected to face competition for his signature.
Newcastle miss out on major sell-on benefit
Anderson’s development has been particularly painful for Newcastle, the club where he came through before making his first-team breakthrough after a successful loan spell at Bristol Rovers in the second half of the 2021-22 season.
He scored against Newcastle in his final appearance for Forest last month, after which Eddie Howe admitted the original sale had been extremely difficult for the club.
Howe said Newcastle knew how much quality Anderson had, but were forced into the transfer because of Premier League profitability and sustainability rules.
Newcastle will not receive a sell-on payment from Anderson’s move to City. His sale to Forest was pushed through quickly to meet financial regulations, with goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moving the other way as part of the arrangement. At the time, Forest valued Anderson at £15m and Vlachodimos at £20m.
Now, less than two years later, Anderson is set for a British record transfer and a move to the Premier League champions.
