"Now is the right time" - Man Utd set to step up £100m Elliot Anderson transfer pursuit after key development | OneFootball

Manchester United are reportedly now expected to approach Nottingham Forest over the potential transfer of Elliot Anderson.

The England international remains one of their top targets as they look for two new signings in midfield this summer.

That’s according to Ben Jacobs, speaking to Give Me Sport, as he tips Man Utd to start to try moving quickly for new additions in midfield, with now looking like a good time to approach Forest as they’ve secured Premier League survival.

The Red Devils will be bidding farewell to Casemiro as he comes to the end of his contract this summer, while Manuel Ugarte’s poor form surely means he won’t be in the club’s plans and could perhaps leave.

Anderson seems like an ideal target for United to go for in that position, and Jacobs has provided some insight into why we could now see things starting to move a bit quicker.

Elliot Anderson to Manchester United transfer update

“So Manchester United are going to move quite quickly on at least two midfielders because Manuel Ugarte could be sold, Casemiro is leaving, and the top priority still remains Elliot Anderson,” Jacobs said.

“Manchester United will start now to find out the price, because the thing that’s moved with Elliot Anderson is the ability to go to Nottingham Forest, which wasn’t the case when they were still in Europe or before they had secured their Premier League safety.

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“So although Elliot Anderson is not agitating or desperate to have a new club before the World Cup, now is the right time to go to Nottingham Forest.

“The potential price has always been extreme because it’s been variable, because naturally in the early part of the season, it looked like Forest could go down and not get any European football, and in that scenario, it would have likely put suitors in a stronger position.

“Now we’re somewhere in the middle because Forest haven’t been able to get to the Europa League final or get Champions League football, but they are a Premier League club.”

Can United beat City to Elliot Anderson?

As Give Me Sport’s report notes, United will likely face competition from Manchester City for Anderson, so it will be interesting to see which Manchester club comes out on top.

City is probably the more reliable project in many ways, but there’s also no doubt that United look like a team on the up after showing big improvement since Michael Carrick took over as interim manager.

There might also be some uncertainty at City at the moment amid doubts over Pep Guardiola’s future, as well as the unresolved 115 charges case still looming in the background.

United really need a statement signing to help take this promising project forward, so if they could beat City to Anderson that would be just the lift everyone at Old Trafford needs.