Amorim mood sours as Man City steam ahead with plans to sign £85m-rated Man Utd target | OneFootball

Manchester City believe their advantage over Manchester United in the race to sign Elliot Anderson is strengthened by the growing turmoil at Old Trafford and with sources revealing the Nottingham Forest star’s personal preference amid claims an £85m transfer is on the cards.

The midfielder’s side, Nottingham Forest, may be embroiled in a relegation battle where they are currently preparing for a vital clash against West Ham on Tuesday night, but the player’s own personal stock has never been higher.

Now a regular in Thomas Tuchel’s England side and a strong candidate to make their World Cup squad this summer, Anderson finds himself in serious demand amid claims he will leave Nottingham Forest this year in a deal worth at least £85m (€98m, $114m).

Quite when Anderson leaves the City Ground, though, remains open to debate. Sean Dyche’s side, understandably, want to keep their prized asset for the remainder of this season at least, especially given their current predicament that sees them sat just four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham. Sources insist that Dyche has made it clear the club cannot afford to sanction the six-times capped England midfielder’s departure right now.

However, both Manchester United and Manchester City are both dreaming at possible raids for the 23-year-old this month – though United’s prospects appear to have significantly nose-dived in the wake of tensions between Amorim and sporting director Jason Wilcox, which has seen talk they will spend any money this month seriously called into question.

Indeed, TEAMtalk has revealed that City were already confident of beating their city rivals to the Forest midfielder’s signature, but recent events at United have only reinforced that belief.

And with uncertainty increasing around United’s direction both on and off the pitch, City sense an opportunity to press their advantage…

Sources reveal Elliot Anderson’s preference between City and United

Indeed, we can reveal that City’s midfield is becoming an area of focus for Pep Guardiola both this month and looking ahead to the summer, even as Rodri returns to full match action.

They want to ensure they are well stacked for the future and believe they could convince Anderson to move in the same way they have won the race for Antoine Semenyo.

The Bournemouth attacker is expected to sign on the dotted line at the Etihad Stadium at the back end of this week once he has played in the Cherries’ clash against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

In both cases, Man Utd have been City’s main competition.

Now, after winning the race for the Ghana international livewire, City also now believe Anderson prefers their win-now strategy under Guardiola to United’s long-term project.

Furthermore, sources have also admitted – in the wake of Amorim’s outburst against the club on Sunday – that the calm and stability of the Etihad is likely to become a determining factor in deciding his next move.

Man Utd chiefs stunned by Amorim outburst as two replacements are eyed

Meanwhile,  our transfer correspondent, Graeme Bailey, has revealed United chiefs have been left stunned by Amorim’s outburst, and there are now serious question marks over his future at Old Trafford as a result.

Furthermore, the Red Devils are understood to have lined up two potential replacements – one for the short-term and one long-term option – should the axe fall on the Portuguese.