How an accounting caveat could delay record Elliot Anderson to Manchester City transfer | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is personally handling negotiations with Manchester City over Elliot Anderson and keeping other senior figures at the club in the dark, including manager Vitor Pereira.

The update sheds new light on the internal dynamics at the City Ground as one of the most closely followed transfer sagas of the summer window continues to develop, with Marinakis having taken direct control of discussions over a deal that could set a new British transfer record.

Manchester City submitted a second bid worth £106 million plus £15 million in bonuses for Anderson earlier this week, a proposal Marinakis regarded as unacceptable despite having reluctantly accepted that the 23-year-old’s departure will happen this summer.

The Forest owner is pushing for the overall fee to be paid in full, with reports suggesting he is holding out for a total package in the region of £130 million – with an upfront £110 million payment and £20 million in add-ons – to sanction a sale.

Report: Marinakis keeping Forest officials & Pereira in the dark

As reported by talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs and Alex Crook, Marinakis is personally handling negotiations with City over Anderson and keeping other senior officials at the club in the dark, including Forest manager Vitor Pereira.

The revelation is a notable one, suggesting the deal is being managed at the very highest level of Forest’s ownership structure with a degree of secrecy that extends even to the club’s own head coach.

Marinakis has been closely involved in Anderson’s situation throughout the summer, having been expected to personally oversee any exit for the midfielder since the pursuit began in earnest.

A further complication has also emerged around the timeline of any agreement, with Forest understood to prefer delaying the formal completion of a deal until July, rather than booking the transfer in the current accounting period.

While Thomas Tuchel has made clear he is content for England players to undergo medicals during the FIFA World Cup, the formalisation of the move itself could be pushed back to next month regardless of when personal terms or a fee are agreed between the clubs.

City’s position remains one of confidence despite the ongoing fee dispute, with recent reports detailing the Blues will try to close the deal as soon as possible and Anderson having received permission from Tuchel to undergo a medical to move to the Etihad Stadium.

What is the wider context for the Anderson saga?

The involvement of Marinakis at the most senior level of negotiations is consistent with the Forest owner’s hands-on approach to transfer business at the City Ground, with the Greek businessman having built the club into one of the Premier League‘s most competitive sides since their promotion in 2022.

Manchester United withdrew from the race for Anderson earlier this week, leaving City as the only club at the table and removing the threat of a bidding war that Forest had hoped might drive the fee towards a British record.

With no competition from rival clubs and Anderson’s preference for the Etihad Stadium well established, the remaining obstacle is purely financial – and it is one that Marinakis alone, it appears, will decide when to resolve.

The July preference adds a further variable to a pursuit that has already tested City’s patience, with pre-season preparations set to begin in July and incoming Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca keen to have his primary midfield target in place as early as possible.