Ornstein reveals Man Utd ‘calling’ for record-breaking swoop as timeline set | OneFootball

David Ornstein has provided the latest on top Manchester United target Elliot Anderson, with INEOS having made contact for the Nottingham Forest star.

Man Utd admire the likes of Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, but Anderson is their No 1 pick to kickstart a midfield rebuild. Old Trafford recruitment chiefs have been wowed by Anderson’s excellent performances for both Forest and the England national team.

The 23-year-old looks set to leave Forest this summer amid interest from United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.

We revealed on March 28 that City are targeting both Anderson and Tonali as they plan their own midfield revamp.

But United aim to stay firmly in the race for Anderson, with sources confirming to us on April 1 that they see him as better value for money than Tonali.

In his latest Q&A for The Athletic, Ornstein was asked about Anderson’s situation, plus interest from United and City. He said: “If they sell, Forest want to break the Premier League transfer record for a midfielder, and if they stay true to that, will both of those suitors be willing to pay it?

“Anderson also already earns in excess of £100,000 per week, so you’re going to need to offer him an extremely high salary.

“Clubs are calling Forest but they are focusing solely on the end of their campaign, with no proper negotiations for now.

“And Anderson is said to be behaving impeccably in not agitating for a move. He also has a World Cup to think about.”

Ornstein also discussed Wharton, Tonali and Baleba, who represent potential plan B options for United.

“We know about the widespread admiration for Wharton, but Palace will demand a very high price for him, and it will be interesting to see if anybody is willing to pay it,” he added.

“For example, clubs such as United would see him as an option for a second midfielder signing — not the first, which in their case would be Anderson or another — and therefore they might not want to go anywhere near the level of fee Palace will seek.

“Tonali has lots of interest, as has been well documented, and the amount of noise would suggest his camp might be keen on exploring their options — but I don’t think there is a clear picture yet on what will happen.

“Carlos Baleba likewise. There are other serious candidates for this position who are perhaps receiving less media attention (Alex Scott, etc) but should not be discounted. I’m sure we’ll speak a lot more about them in the weeks ahead.”

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Elliot Anderson ‘bidding war’ tipped

On April 8, our transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, explained how Forest are trying to start a ‘bidding war’ for Anderson.

“With Elliot Anderson, which one club benefits massively from multiple clubs being interested? Nottingham Forest,” Bailey said.

“They don’t want anyone to think that Manchester City have this tied down – they want a bidding war and that is completely understandable. They want top-of-the-market price, they want to be able to get a deal into three figures.

“Is Anderson worth £100million? There is that age old argument that nobody is, but in the current market it is hard not to see him in that bracket, his stock is going up and up.”

On April 9, TEAMtalk’s own Fraser Fletcher revealed that United have intensified their pursuit of Anderson as they try to stop him from moving to the Etihad.

The most expensive midfielder in Premier League history is currently Florian Wirtz, who joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen last summer for £116m.

Some reports have tipped Forest to demand an eye-popping £120m for Anderson, though £80-100m is a more likely price point.

INEOS have several big decisions to make this summer, with potential midfield signings among them. The United hierarchy must decide whether to stick with Michael Carrick or appoint a new head coach, too.