“The Athletic” reports
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England’s World Cup driver Elliot Anderson could become this summer’s most expensive transfer – if he goes to Nottingham Forest, even significantly more expensive than Jude Bellingham when he moved from BVB to Real Madrid in 2023. According to “The Athletic”, Manchester City made a verbal offer worth the equivalent of 123 million euros – Bellingham joined the Royals as the most expensive Englishman in football history for 127 million euros.
The Citizens’ offer should contain bonus payments that could drive the transfer fee up to 139 million euros. According to the report, Nottingham is demanding a fixed €145 million to offload its 23-year-old perennial favorite this summer. Anderson, who is under contract until 2029, was used 50 times in the midfield center of the Europa League semi-finalists and was directly involved in nine goals. During his best season to date, the nine-time national player increased his market value from 32 million to 75 million euros.
There are big shoes to fill in Man City’s midfield: Bernardo Silva is saying goodbye after nine years with 460 games and 18 titles. To get Anderson, the Skyblues would have to break their transfer record, which was set in 2021 for Jack Grealish. 117.5 million euros went to Aston Villa – but the winger did not live up to this sum.
Stefan Bienkowski, Area Manager Transfermarkt UK, said: “Thomas Tuchel called up Anderson for his England national team, preferring him to professionals such as Adam Wharton, Morgan Gibbs-White and Alex Scott. Although he is often classified as a defensive midfielder, he has the talent to operate as a box-to-box player or even as an attack-minded playmaker. In a similar role to Declan Rice, he could develop into a can-do midfielder.”
For Anderson, this move would be the second major transfer of his young career after he moved from Newcastle to Nottingham for 41.2 million euros in 2024. At the Tricky Trees he became the player with the most ball contacts in the Premier League this season and one of the biggest market value winners internationally. Manchester United are also said to have their eye on Anderson, but are reportedly unable to keep up with the amount of the transfer fee demanded.