Man City ‘ahead of’ Man Utd for ‘record’ transfer for three reasons as ‘growing expectation’ revealed

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·26 May 2026

Man City ‘ahead of’ Man Utd for ‘record’ transfer for three reasons as ‘growing expectation’ revealed

A new report has confirmed that Manchester City are ‘ahead of’ Manchester United in the race to sign Elliot Anderson for three reasons.

Anderson has quickly developed into one of the best centre-midfielders in the Premier League and he is set to start for England at this summer’s World Cup.

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The Nottingham Forest standout has been sensational for the Premier League side over the past two seasons, but they face losing him in this summer’s transfer window.

The 23-year-old is a leading target for several Premier League clubs heading into this summer, though Man City and Man Utd appear the most interested in the midfielder.

The two arch-rivals are in the market for at least one new midfielder this summer as they want to sign a top-level No.6 as a long-term replacement for Rodri and Casemiro, respectively.

However, it has been widely reported for a while that Man City are the favourites to sign Anderson, with it claimed a couple of days ago that an ‘agreement’ has already been reached between the two sides.

A new report from BBC Sport’s Nick Mashiter does not go this far, but he has reiterated that Man City are ‘ahead of’ Man Utd for Anderson.

There is said to be a ‘growing expectation’ that Anderson will leave Forest this summer, and Man City are the leading contenders to sign him because he is ‘leaning towards’ a move to the Etihad and two more reasons.

The report adds:

‘United are unwilling to overpay, or get drawn into protracted negotiations. ‘No deal has been struck between Forest and City and the clubs are far apart on their valuation for the 23-year-old, meaning the situation could still change.’

Nottingham Forest look to sell Elliot Anderson for ‘record’ fee

Earlier this week, a report from The Telegraph shed light on Forest’s plans to earn a ‘record’ fee from Anderson’s sale.

The report claims:

‘Forest will now prepare for the summer, and are determined to retain the core of their squad. That is a stance supported by Marinakis and Pereira. There is an acceptance that Elliot Anderson will be in high demand and may be sold. Manchester City and Manchester United are both very interested and a decent World Cup for the midfielder could bring other heavyweights to the table. ‘Yet Forest will only sell him at market value and Marinakis is using the £115m sale of Moisés Caicedo from Brighton to Chelsea in August 2023 as the benchmark. It means Anderson is likely to eclipse the transfer record for an English player set by Declan Rice (£105m) almost three years ago.’