Man City’s dream midfield for 2026-27 after record Elliot Anderson signing | OneFootball

Manchester City are signing Elliot Anderson in a club-record deal in a bold move for the next phase of their midfield evolution.

A frankly astonishing £116million deal has been accepted by Nottingham Forest, paving the way for Anderson to become City’s most expensive signing ever. Back in the day that would have got you two Kevin De Bruynes, or nearly five Yaya Toures…

But these days it gets you one Anderson – and we’ve taken a closer look at what City’s midfield will look like with him in it.

The starters

We can only assume that if City are spending more than £100million on Anderson it’s because they see him as a ready-made starter.

We’re not entirely sure ourselves, as good as he is, but history suggests City would have walked away from the deal if they felt the price was too high, so they must have high hopes for the 23-year-old.

He has his own strengths as a strong runner and capable ball progressor, but Anderson has been billed by some as City’s answer to the challenge of finding a successor for Rodri, whose future should be decided one way or another after the World Cup.

Rodri is entering the last year of his contract at the Etihad and has been linked tentatively with Real Madrid in recent weeks.

If he stays, and stays fit, he should start. That’d mean a double pivot with Rodri and Anderson alongside each other.

Should Rodri leave, though, City could go back into the market. They’ve been linked with Sandro Tonali, who’d be another lucrative buy to bring some different qualities in, but there seems to be more noise about a move to Tottenham for him.

Still, you’d choose City if you were a player with both options in front of you, wouldn’t you?

Then, to provide the creativity in the number 10 role, Rayan Cherki will be looking to build on his bright debut season in the Premier League.

The backups

Of course, City are going to have enough strength in depth to push their regular starters – especially if Rodri can only feature in fewer than half of their games again.

One player we’re intrigued to see Enzo Maresca’s plans for is Nico O’Reilly. He impressed at left-back last season, but could have a future in midfield, which is meant to be his more natural position.

Another Nico – Gonzalez – has had 18 months with City now and may have a question mark over his future after not managing to make himself a regular starter in that time.

But he still has three years of contract and a decent chance of trying to prove himself under a new manager.

Likewise, Tijjani Reijnders’ debut season with City was mild at best. He might be at risk of an early exit, but could fight for his place.

Less likely to be sticking around is Kalvin Phillips after his loan spell with Sheffield United, while there are question marks over Mateo Kovacic’s future as he enters the last year of his contract.

If one, two or all of Kovacic, Reijnders and Gonzalez go, City could be considering their options for an extra midfield reinforcement – one in a cheaper price bracket than Anderson.

Lille teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi is one to have been linked in recent hours, looking a top prospect for the future at the age of 18 with decent experience under his belt already.

Meanwhile, in attacking midfield, Bernardo Silva has moved on to Real Madrid. He will quite simply be irreplaceable.

But City still have a certain Phil Foden ready for a renaissance season after missing out on England’s squad for the World Cup. He could get plenty of gametime rotating with Cherki or playing on the wings.