Manchester City made a second bid for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson worth an initial £106 million plus add-ons pushing the total beyond £120 million, but Nottingham Forest rejected the offer on June 10 [1, 2, 3].
The 23-year-old England international joined Forest from Newcastle in 2024 for £35 million and is seen as a key player in England’s World Cup squad, having started in the final friendly before the tournament [1, 3]. Sources differ slightly on the exact value of City’s second bid, ranging from £120 million to £122 million including add-ons [1, 2, 3].
City’s first bid earlier this month was reportedly around £80-85 million but was also rejected by Forest [2, 3]. The club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, reportedly values Anderson at a British record transfer fee of £125 million before add-ons, a sum above the current British player record of £105 million paid by Arsenal for Declan Rice in 2023 [2, 3, 1].
If the deal goes ahead, Anderson could become one of the highest fee transfers between British clubs, with the current record being £125 million Liverpool paid Newcastle for Alexander Isak [2, 3]. Anderson is said to prefer a move to Manchester City over Manchester United, as United are less willing to engage in a bidding war [1, 2, 3].
Manchester City are also monitoring Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali as a potential midfield target if negotiations for Anderson fail [1, 3]. City’s urgency to bolster their midfield comes after Bernardo Silva left the club at the end of his contract [1, 3].
England’s World Cup squad is expected to name Anderson for their June 17 opener against Croatia [1, 2]. The transfer saga is likely to continue in the coming days as both clubs consider their next steps.
