Man Utd rocked as Man City enter ‘advanced talks’ for monumental midfield signing – Fabrizio Romano | OneFootball

Manchester City are in ‘advanced talks’ with the agents of Manchester United target, Elliot Anderson, and a painful reason why the Red Devils look like missing out has been put forward by Fabrizio Romano.

Anderson, 23, is widely known to be one of three central midfielders Man Utd would love to sign this summer. The others are Carlos Baleba and Adam Wharton.

Nottingham Forest will put up a fight if they retain their Premier League status, though the common consensus is a deal can be struck if bids approaching £90m-£100m are lodged.

Newcastle harbour ambitions of bringing Anderson back to St. James’ Park, though a deal would only be financially viable if selling one of Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. Understandably, the Magpies don’t want either midfielder to go.

As such, the race for Anderson appears to be boiling down to Man Utd vs Man City. And according to the latest from transfer guru, Fabrizio Romano, it’s Pep Guardiola’s side who are surging ahead.

“Man City are pushing to sign Anderson, and are in advanced talks with his agents and advanced talks in terms of asking about the situation of the player,” began Romano when reporting on his YouTube channel.

“So nothing has been agreed, but I mean advanced conversations about enquiring for the player.

“So Man City have been clear – they see Elliot Anderson as a target. We’re not yet at the stage of personal terms agreed or deal done. But for sure Man City have confirmed their interest to those close to Anderson.”

Romano added: “Manchester United are attentive to the situation as well. Man Utd love the player, but at the moment, Man City are pushing because in midfield, Man City will be very busy as well.”

Perhaps crucially for Man Utd, and hinting at why City now appear to be favourites, Romano concluded by stating Man Utd still haven’t determined which midfielder they should pursue with the greatest vigour.

Given the Red Devils still don’t know who their manager will be next season, that is understandable. Indeed, the perfect midfielder for Michael Carrick might not be the perfect midfielder for Julian Nagelsmann, or Roberto De Zerbi, or whichever manager United put their faith in at season’s end.

As such, the managerial uncertainty appears to be holding United’s transfer plans back, and it’s a situation that could result in Man Utd missing out on high calibre targets like Anderson.