Danny Mills urges Man City caution over Elliot Anderson after horror Kalvin Phillips tenure | OneFootball

Former England defender Danny Mills has urged Manchester City to exercise caution over their club record £116 million signing of Elliot Anderson.

The former Leeds United and England right-back’s verdict sits in deliberate contrast to the wave of enthusiasm that has accompanied Anderson’s £116 million move from Nottingham Forest, with Mills drawing on the cautionary tale of Kalvin Phillips to temper expectations around a signing whose fee alone guarantees nothing about its ultimate success.

The ssessment also touches on the broader transition underway at the Etihad Stadium following Pep Guardiola‘s departure, with the pundit questioning how Enzo Maresca‘s different style of football will shape the demands placed on Anderson and the wider squad as they adapt to a new era at the club.

Central to Mills’s intervention is the question of whether Anderson can genuinely fill the void left by Rodri – the Ballon d’Or winner whose continued presence at Manchester City has been the subject of sustained speculation throughout the summer – and whether the scale of the investment in Anderson signals that those at the top of the club already know the answer.

Anderson’s arrival raises Ballon d’Or question as Phillips comparison looms, says Mills

Speaking to Snabbare, Mills began by dismissing the significance of the fee itself before quickly pivoting to the more substantive question of what Anderson’s role will be within Manchester City’s structure.

“I think a player is worth whatever someone will pay for him. That’s effectively what it comes down to, so the fee for Elliot Anderson is almost irrelevant in that sense. It doesn’t make a huge difference,” said Mills.

“He’s not particularly going to score goals or assist. Is he the replacement for Rodri? When you think of the past, they had Fernandinho, then Rodri, Nigel de Jong before that. That midfield player role is absolutely crucial for the stability of the side.

“Rodri took it to another level. Before that, you had the likes of Claude Makelele and even Nemanja Matić at times when he first went to Chelsea, they were superb in those positions. Can Anderson get to those levels? Can he win the Ballon d’Or? That’s unlikely. Rodri was exceptional that season with both club and international football.”

The pundit was careful to qualify his scepticism with an acknowledgement of Anderson’s quality before introducing the comparison that will resonate most sharply with Manchester City supporters.

He added: “But he’s a very good player. You do have to be cautious because the Kalvin Phillips example will always be thrown at you. Kalvin was England’s best player during the (2021) Euros and took the big-money move to Manchester City, but it didn’t work out.”

Mills: You have to assume Rodri might be leaving if Anderson is coming in for that money

Mills acknowledged the distinction between Phillips and Anderson before broadening his assessment to address the wider picture at the Etihad Stadium and the implications of signing a midfielder at record cost.

“He maybe wasn’t as stable or regular as Anderson has been at club level,” the pundit said. “There’s always the chance that a player doesn’t settle or it doesn’t quite work out.

“He’s also not going into a Pep Guardiola team, it’s Enzo Maresca now. That’s a different way of playing and a different style of football. We have to wait and see how he picks his team. We need to see how that team evolves over the next few months.

“There are a lot of changes at Manchester City that all the players will have to get used to. He’s a very good player. People will pay whatever they want, but you have to assume Rodri might be leaving if Anderson is coming in for that money.”

The Rodri implication is perhaps the more significant takeaway from Mills’s assessment for director of football Hugo Viana and those at the top of Manchester City’s sporting structure, with the suggestion that a £116 million outlay on a midfielder signals awareness within the club that their most important player’s future is not as settled as public communications have implied.

Whether Anderson silences the doubts by delivering the kind of consistent, Rodri-esque influence that his fee demands – or whether Mills’s caution ultimately proves more prescient than the enthusiasm that has surrounded the signing – will only become clear once Maresca’s first competitive season at the Etihad Stadium gets underway and the questions currently being asked in the transfer window are replaced by the verdicts of the pitch.