Manchester City and Manchester United are positioned at the head of the queue for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, with a transfer fee likely to exceed £100m. While Manchester United have made the 23-year-old their top priority for a midfield overhaul, Manchester City are currently considered the frontrunners to secure his signature. According to reports from TeamTalk, Forest internally expect to sanction the departure of only one star midfielder this summer, with the club increasingly confident of retaining captain Morgan Gibbs-White despite interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
The Battle for Anderson and Forest's Financial Stance
As first reported by the Manchester Evening News, Manchester City view Anderson as a primary target in a deal that would represent a significant profit on the £35m Forest paid Newcastle United in July 2024. Manchester United’s interest, however, remains concrete; journalist Ben Jacobs, speaking on the Sports Mole platform, indicated that the Old Trafford club intend to move quickly to secure Anderson as a successor to Casemiro. While Football365 reports that United explored a £173m double deal for both Anderson and Gibbs-White, Forest's recent financial results suggest they do not need a fire sale. Despite posting a £78.9m pre-tax loss for 2024/25, the club remains PSR-compliant thanks to equity conversions by owner Evangelos Marinakis and record revenues of £222m following a deep Europa League run.
Tactical Rationale and Squad Impact
The urgency behind United’s pursuit stems from an INEOS-led mandate to modernise a midfield that has relied heavily on the ageing Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes. Anderson, who has evolved into a high-volume ball-progressor at City Ground, fits the profile of a tenacious, versatile midfielder capable of operating in a double pivot or as a box-to-box engine. For Forest, selling Anderson for a nine-figure sum provides essential liquidity as the Premier League transitions to the new Squad Cost Ratio framework, where their current 109% wage-to-turnover ratio must be streamlined. Manager Vitor Pereira recently addressed the speculation via Goal, stating he could not guarantee the midfielder's future but noted that Anderson "deserves the top of the world." By offloading Anderson, Forest likely secure enough breathing room to keep Gibbs-White, who is under a £150,000-a-week deal with a release clause ranging between £60m and £80m.
With Manchester City currently leading the race, the focus shifts to whether United will formalise a bid before the June PSR deadline to test Forest's resolve.