Pep Guardiola namechecks Man Utd ‘first-choice target’ as £120m star gets ‘his mojo back’ | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson demonstrated against Manchester City why Manchester United are keen on bringing him to Old Trafford in the January transfer window, with Cityzens manager Pep Guardiola also impressed.

TEAMtalk has consistently reported that Man Utd are keen on signing a top midfielder in 2026, as Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim is keen on continuing the rebuilding of his team. Carlos Baleba, Joao Gomes and Adam Wharton are among the midfielders that Man Utd have on their wishlist.

Sources, though, have told our transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, that Man Utd have made Elliot Anderson their number one midfield target.

Nottingham Forest, though, are not willing to sell Anderson in the January transfer window and value the England international midfielder at £120million (€136.3m, $157.6m).

Anderson has gone from strength to strength since leaving Newcastle United for Forest in 2024, establishing himself as one of the best and most dynamic midfielders in the Premier League and also earning six England caps.

The midfielder was in action for Nottingham Forest against Manchester City at the City Ground in the Premier League on Saturday, and his performance once again underlined why Man Utd are so keen on him.

Forest manager Sean Dyche deployed Anderson as one of the two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and the Man Utd target dominated proceedings in the middle of the park.

Pitted against the likes of Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Bernardo Silva in midfield, Anderson worked like a horse and imposed himself physically.

According to WhoScored, Anderson played one key pass and had a pass accuracy of 83.9%.

The Forest star also won two headers, took 84 touches of the ball, and won two dribbles.

Anderson made four tackles, three interceptions and two clearances, and also put in seven crosses.

Man City manager Pep Guardiola was hugely impressed with Anderson and namechecked him while praising Forest for giving his team a run for their money, as the Cityzens won 2-1.

Guardiola told BBC Sport after the match: “All the players have pace, ability. Gibbs-White – what a player! And Anderson. They are a fantastic team.”

The local Nottingham Forest media was also impressed with Anderson’s performance against a Man City side that could end up winning the Premier League title this season.

While rating Anderson’s performance 8.5 out of 10 in their Player Ratings, NottinghamshireLive noted: The midfielder has his mojo back. Levels had dropped a bit in recent games – at least compared to his high standards – but he was back on top form for this one. Didn’t stop all afternoon.