Not giving up yet: Man United ready to hijack £80m Man City transfer

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·30 March 2026

Not giving up yet: Man United ready to hijack £80m Man City transfer

Manchester United are reportedly not giving up on beating Manchester City to the transfer of Nottingham Forest central midfielder Elliot Anderson.

The England international remains Man Utd’s dream target in the middle of the park, despite the feeling being that Man City are seen as the current frontrunners for his signature.

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Still, it seems the Red Devils won’t give up, with the Sun reporting that they’re making Anderson a priority in that position.

Elliot Anderson transfer saga timeline

This follows plenty of recent speculation around Anderson, with a summary below of some recent reports on this saga…

19th March – City described as frontrunners, but with United still determined to win the race for Anderson, who’d likely cost around £80m, according to BBC Sport.
21st March – City described as being in advanced talks to sign Anderson, according to an update from Fabrizio Romano on his YouTube channel.
25th March – United looking at Anderson as an ideal no.8 signing, and keen to get a deal done before the World Cup, according to Sky Sports.
26th March – However, Sandro Tonali reported as being above Anderson on United’s list of targets in midfield, according to the Daily Mail.
28th March – Our exclusive info is that Arsenal sense an opportunity to move for Anderson, as nothing is done with City yet.

Can Manchester United realistically sign Elliot Anderson?

So, overall, a real mixed picture is emerging with regards to MUFC and their midfield targets for the summer.

The most consistent line seems to be that City are in fact leading the race for the 23-year-old, but that United and other clubs are not entirely out of the running yet.

It may be, however, that Anderson is not necessarily seen as the priority for the Old Trafford club, though, as there’s a lot of talk about Tonali as well.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out, and whose information proved most accurate, and we’ll aim to give you the clearest possible transfer news insight here