Manchester City believe they've won the race to sign Elliot Anderson. According to multiple reports including Sky Sports and Goal, the 23-year-old Nottingham Forest midfielder has made his preference clear — and it points toward the Etihad. United were in the running, Tottenham showed interest, and Arsenal were monitoring too. But right now, City are in the driving seat.
The fee remains the main sticking point. Forest want up to £90m. City's current offer is closer to £65m. That gap is real but not insurmountable — the kind of difference that tends to close when both parties want the deal to happen. And on current indications, both parties do.
Who Is Elliot Anderson?
If you've been watching the Premier League closely this season, you already know the answer. Anderson has been one of the standout midfielders in the division — technically sharp, physically imposing for his age, comfortable in tight spaces, and capable of driving forward with the ball at pace. He's the kind of midfielder that modern top teams spend enormous money trying to find: dynamic, two-footed, able to play in multiple systems.
He's 23. He's English. And he's been doing this consistently week after week for Nottingham Forest, a club that wasn't expected to be in contention for European football when the season started, and now finds itself in exactly that position partly because of Anderson's contributions. Forest know what they have. That's why they're not accepting anything below market rate.
Why City Want Him Now
Pep Guardiola's midfield is in a period of transition. The old guard — the players who drove City's dominant run of titles — are aging or leaving. The club spent heavily last summer and in January, but midfield depth and quality remain a concern heading into next season. Reports have linked Anderson with Sandro Tonali in what some describe as a dual midfield overhaul — City rebuilding the engine room in one summer.
Anderson would specifically complement what City have. He provides energy, direct running, and goal threat from deep — attributes that the current squad doesn't always produce from the midfield area. For a new head coach taking over from Guardiola, inheriting a player of Anderson's profile would be exactly the kind of asset you'd want to build around.
United Will Be Disappointed
For Manchester United, losing this race to their rivals would hurt. Anderson is a local player in the broader sense — Geordie-born, proud of his roots, with Newcastle United fans nursing the lingering feeling that he left St James' Park too soon when he signed for Forest. A move to City rather than United or Newcastle would close that particular chapter definitively.
A Newcastle legend has already gone on record saying "he's a Geordie" — half prediction, half wishful thinking — suggesting that some still believe Anderson could end up back in the north-east. But City's Champions League pedigree, their project under a new manager, and apparently the player's own preference make that outcome increasingly unlikely.
Forest's Position
Nottingham Forest are not in a position of weakness here. They're not a selling club under financial pressure forced to accept whatever offer comes in. They've built something under their current structure, Anderson is central to it, and they won't be letting him go for a penny less than they believe he's worth. The difference between £65m and £90m is significant — City will need to move closer to Forest's valuation if they want to get this over the line before the summer window opens properly.
But the momentum is clear. Anderson wants City. City want Anderson. The details will get sorted. Expect this one to be one of the summer's biggest completed deals.
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