Wayne Rooney ‘gutted’ as Manchester United miss out on Elliot Anderson, warns big fees can misfire | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney said he was gutted his former club Manchester United did not sign Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson. The midfielder is poised to join Manchester City for £116m after a medical in the US while on World Cup duty with England.

The move would make him the most expensive English player, surpassing the £105m Arsenal paid for Declan Rice. The current British record is the £125m Liverpool spent on Alexander Isak 12 months ago. Rooney made the comments on BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show.

Rooney said he had hoped Anderson would end up at Old Trafford and cautioned that big-money deals can falter. He pointed to previous City signings Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish.

Phillips has started only two Premier League matches for City since a £42m switch from Leeds United. Grealish cost £100m and, despite winning the Premier League and Champions League, has not fully met expectations.

Rooney added that although Grealish has lifted trophies, he has been left in limbo after falling out of favour. He suggested huge fees can leave clubs accepting offers they cannot refuse, only to find the player does not fit.

Source: Nottingham Post