Man City agree record transfer fee with Nottingham Forest for Elliot Anderson | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

Manchester City have agreed a record-breaking £116m fee for the transfer of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.

The midfielder is competing at the 2026 World Cup with England in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and completed his medical in Kansas before the Three Lions face the latter in the round of 16 on Monday.

Anderson becomes the most expensive British player in history on the completion of the deal – surpassing the £115m Real Madrid paid to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund – which is expected to be finalised after the tournament.

Enzo Maresca’s first signing also eclipses Declan Rice’s move from West Ham to Arsenal, Harry Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich from Spurs, Gareth Bale’s switch to Madrid, and the £100m City spent on Jack Grealish in 2021.

Anderson has also become the third most expensive signing in Premier League history, behind Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz costing a combined £241.5m when they moved to Liverpool last season.

It comes as Tottenham Hotspur agreed an £85m deal for West Ham midfielder Matheus Fernandes and are rumoured to be in negotiations for the £100m signing of Sandro Tonali from Newcastle.

Even if the Italian’s move also becomes a reality, it falls somewhat short of the record-breaking base fee that City have had to commit in order to finally secure Anderson’s signature after a weeks-long saga.

The 23-year-old appeared in all 38 Premier League matches for Forest last season, coming off the bench on just one occasion, and scored four goals while assisting four.

But he ranked among the top five in the league for tackles and passes, underlining his all-round ability as he played a starring role in Forest’s survival under Vitor Pereira to eventually beat the drop.

Anderson made his international debut for England in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra last year, and has started all four matches so far under Thomas Tuchel in his preferred midfield pairing with Rice.

In a statement on the club’s website, City wished Anderson and England “the very best of luck in their World Cup campaign” and expressed their excitement to welcoming him to the club.

Sky Sports journalist Ben Rasnom described Anderson as an “all-action midfielder” and a good fit for Maresca’s system, stating the same would have been the case if his former boss Pep Guardiola was still in charge of Manchester City.

He said: “Elliot Anderson will 100% fit into Enzo Maresca’s system. He would have fit into Pep Guardiola’s and fit into any manager’s system because he’s so versatile. He can play as a single pivot.

“As we’ve seen at the World Cup, he can play alongside someone like Declan Rice. He can break the lines, press, win duels – he is an all-action midfielder.

“He can even score goals, as we saw against Man City last season. That versatility makes him a really important signing for Man City, particularly when you consider Bernardo Silva’s exit this summer.”

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