Manchester City Pursue Elliot Anderson Amid Nottingham Forest Rejection
Manchester City have seen their opening move for Elliot Anderson swatted away by Nottingham Forest, but the champions have no intention of walking away from this one.
An initial bid for the 23-year-old midfielder has been rejected, with Forest holding firm as interest in their prize asset hardens into a full-blown summer saga. City’s offer, formalised this week, was turned down as reported by The Athletic, yet the direction of travel feels clear: Anderson is expected to leave the City Ground before the window shuts.
City, for their part, are pushing to make sure his next stop is the Etihad.
BBC Sport reported last week that Anderson, now an England international, is leaning towards joining City rather than Manchester United. That preference matters. When the champions and their neighbours go head-to-head for a player, the choice of the footballer himself often tilts the whole negotiation.
Anderson’s rise over the past year has been dramatic. A Newcastle academy graduate who truly exploded at Forest, he put together a standout season that forced his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the upcoming World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. While he prepares for the tournament, the market churns around him. Club-to-club talks can continue in the background, and they will.
Forest know they sit on a financial earthquake. Any deal for Anderson is expected to threaten – and likely surpass – the British transfer record, eclipsing the £105m Arsenal paid West Ham for Declan Rice in 2023. That kind of number changes a balance sheet. It also sharpens the stakes for City, who must decide how far they are willing to go for a player they have admired for a long time.
This is not a new fascination. City’s recruitment team have tracked Anderson since his early days at Newcastle, following his development closely as he grew into a complete, modern midfielder at Forest: press-resistant, aggressive without the ball, and with the engine to live inside the relentless demands of a title-chasing side.
The timing is no coincidence. Bernardo Silva’s departure as captain has opened a significant gap in City’s midfield. They are not simply replacing a technician; they are trying to replace a heartbeat. Anderson, in their eyes, has the profile and personality to grow into that space, even if he cannot replicate Bernardo from day one.
He is not the only name on the list. Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali is also understood to be highly rated within the Etihad hierarchy, with the Italy international monitored as a longer-term target. City like his range, his control of tempo, his ability to dictate from deeper areas. For now, though, Anderson sits at the top of the pile.
There will be exits to balance the evolution. Nico Gonzalez, who missed out on Spain’s World Cup squad and slipped out of favour under Pep Guardiola last season, could be allowed to move on if the right offer arrives. His situation underlines the ruthlessness of City’s planning: reputations matter less than fit, freshness and the next phase of the project.
The reshaping will not stop in midfield. City are also in the market for a right-back after Matheus Nunes, 28, impressed in the role this season following his conversion from midfield. His performances gave Guardiola a short-term solution, but the club want a specialist: a younger full-back, naturally suited to the position, who can grow into the role over several seasons.
Put together, it is a familiar City summer: targeted, aggressive, and anchored around one marquee pursuit. Forest have rejected the first shot in the Anderson chase. The real question now is how high the champions are prepared to go – and whether this record-breaking gamble becomes the next pillar of their dominance.
