Elliot Anderson: Manchester City's Bid Rejected by Nottingham Forest

Manchester City have had their first move for Elliot Anderson knocked back, but the story is only just starting.

The Premier League champions tested Nottingham Forest’s resolve with an opening offer for the midfielder, only to be firmly rebuffed. Forest can afford to say no. Anderson is tied down until 2029, is central to their project, and is about to walk onto the biggest stage of his career with England at the World Cup.

City, though, are not alone in circling. Arsenal and Manchester United are among the heavyweights tracking the 23-year-old, who has rapidly climbed into the bracket of the league’s elite central midfielders. United have already struck a £34m agreement to sign Ederson from Atalanta this week, but their attention has not drifted far from Anderson, whose price will sit in a very different stratosphere.

This is the summer of the super-midfielder. Alongside Anderson, Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Brighton’s Carlos Baleba headline a market stacked with high-end options. Clubs that want to own the ball for the next five years are shopping from the same shelf.

City’s admiration for Anderson is long-standing and specific. They have watched his transformation since he left Newcastle for Forest in 2024, evolving from a promising technician into a dominant, two-way force. The relationship between the two clubs is described as excellent, which matters when negotiations are likely to stretch beyond £100m, the territory recently occupied by Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Declan Rice.

Forest, though, hold the cards.

Forest dig in, City race the clock

With Anderson locked into a long contract and central to their plans, Forest are under no pressure to sell. That leverage only grows with the World Cup two weeks away. If he performs as expected for England, his valuation will harden, not soften.

From City’s perspective, the clock is already ticking. Securing a deal before the tournament would protect them from a bidding war and from the inflation that usually follows a breakout international campaign. For the player, an early agreement would also remove the noise around his future while he tries to establish himself on the world stage.

On the pitch, Anderson’s profile screams “Guardiola midfielder.” He is not a pure chance creator in the Rice mould, but he is ferocious at recovering possession and then ruthless in how he uses it. Last season he had more touches than any other central midfielder in the Premier League – around 3,300 – in a Forest side that rarely dominated the ball. That tells its own story.

Drop him next to Rodri and City gain a relentless presser who can keep the ball moving and close counter-attacks at source. Take Rodri out, and Anderson has the range and rhythm to anchor the midfield himself. It is that versatility, as much as his age and ceiling, that pushes his value into the bracket already set by Rice and Caicedo.

England first, everything else later

For now, Anderson has parked it all. He is preparing for his first major tournament with England, with their opener against Croatia on June 17 looming and Thomas Tuchel demanding total focus in the Miami heat.

Those close to the situation insist his priority is clear: England, then Nottingham Forest, then everything else. Any transfer, they say, will only be discussed on his terms and on his timeline.

That stance is shaped by something deeper than football. Forest do not want to sell, and Anderson’s bond with owner Evangelos Marinakis has strengthened dramatically in recent months. After the death of Anderson’s mother in April, Marinakis offered personal support that has left a lasting impression. The two have become close, and the player is determined to respect that relationship before entertaining any move away.

It means this saga may not explode in June, but simmer into late August. By then, the World Cup will have provided its answers. Either Anderson will return as the midfielder everyone expected him to be, or as something even more valuable.

Forest will then have a decision to make. So will City. And if the price tag has climbed past the £100m mark by that point, nobody will be surprised.