Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for £100m? Newcastle will feel sick… | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest are hoping to get around £100million for Elliot Anderson after Manchester City put him at the top of their midfield shortlist, according to reports.

Anderson has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League this season, leading the division in ball recoveries (98).

He is also third for fouls won (25), fifth for passes completed (734), and third for progressive passes (100).

Nottingham Forest’s season in F365 Tables

Anderson’s form has been a rare bright spot in a difficult season for Forest.

The City Ground club are already on their third manager of the campaign after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo with Ange Postecoglou, who only lasted eight games before being replaced by Sean Dyche.

While Forest, who are 16th in the Premier League, have struggled, Anderson has been fantastic under all three managers.

Unsurprisingly, his form has caught the attention of several top clubs.

One of those clubs is Manchester City, who are seeking a long-term replacement for Rodri.

Rodri has struggled to stay fit this season after missing the majority of 2024/25 with an ACL injury, and his deputy Nico Gonzalez has failed to impress so far.

Gonzalez is definitely improving, and any midfielder is a downgrade on the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, but Pep Guardiola will have expected more from the £50million January signing.

Anderson is Premier League-proven and looks the real deal. Not only has he been terrific for Forest, but he has also established himself as a regular in Thomas Tuchel’s England starting XI.

He’d be a top signing for City, and according to the Daily Mail, Guardiola’s side are ‘ready to make Anderson one of their top targets in 2026’ and are now ‘ahead of’ Manchester United in the race for his signature.

City’s director of football, Hugo Viana, and Guardiola are huge admirers of the 23-year-old and have sent scouts to watch him this season.

It’s believed Forest ‘will reject any advances in January’ and think they can hold out for £100m after the World Cup. The minimum expectation is £80m for Anderson, who appeals to City because he can play as both a No.6 and No.8.

Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton has also been targeted by City, but they are now more interested in the Forest star.

There is also interest from Liverpool and Manchester United, while £80-100m is deemed too much by his former club Newcastle United.

City’s immediate priority right now is signing a new attacker, with Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo top of their list for January.

Newcastle will regret Anderson sale, but it did make sense

Newcastle will be absolutely gutted that they let Anderson go, but they were correct to do so at the time.

Anderson’s pathway into the starting XI was blocked by Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, while Eddie Howe also had Lewis Miley and Joe Willock at his disposal.

The midfielder wasn’t pushing to leave but wanted regular football. When the opportunity to join Forest arose, he took it, and the Magpies were happy to oblige.

His exit was regarded as nothing more than a PSR sham, with Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moving in the opposite direction in a separate deal worth ‘£20m’.

Anderson’s transfer fee on paper was £35m, but it was effectively a £15m move when you accounted for the Odysseas deal.

At the time, £35m looked laughable. Now he’s worth around triple that.

Not only would Anderson be perfect for this disjointed Newcastle team, with Joelinton declining, Miley showing little progression, and Ramsey and Willock injury-prone, but they will be devastated to have let a £100m midfielder, who came through their academy, leave for £15m.

They absolutely f***ed it. But nobody thought they had at the time. And Newcastle’s hands were tied by the Premier League’s financial rules; they felt they had little choice but to cash in for pure profit.