Manchester City stalls in pursuit of Elliot Anderson after Nottingham Forest rejects new bid
Manchester City could be facing a key decision in its attempt to sign Elliot Anderson, the 23-year-old midfielder for Nottingham Forest and the England national team. According to a Guardian report, Forest rejected City’s second offer worth a total of £122 million, of which £106 million would be guaranteed and an additional £16 million tied to bonuses. This confirmed that negotiations have not moved close to completion despite a sum that would surpass City’s existing club record and rank among the biggest transfers in the history of English football. Forest, according to the same report, is demanding at least £125 million in guaranteed money before add-ons, referring to the level of the British record set by Alexander Isak’s transfer from Newcastle United to Liverpool. Because of such a difference in the structure and size of the fee, City, according to available media information, is considering how far it wants to go before turning to other solutions for midfield.
The rejection is particularly important because Anderson is not just another name on the market, but a player around whom exceptionally high interest has formed ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Sky Sports states that City remained in talks after the first rejected offer and considered its next step, while Anderson was at the same time also linked with other major Premier League clubs. Nottingham Forest also has a strong negotiating position because Anderson is under contract until the summer of 2029, and his value could increase further if he receives a significant role in the England national team at the tournament in North America. In such circumstances, Forest is under neither financial nor sporting pressure to accept an offer that does not match the club’s valuation of the player. City, on the other hand, is faced with the question of whether a record investment in a midfielder can be justified at a time when the club is planning a rebuild of the middle of the pitch.
Forest wants a record fee and will not accept bonuses as a substitute for guaranteed money
The central problem in the negotiations is not only the total value of the offer, but its structure. The Guardian reported that City’s £122 million package includes £106 million in guaranteed obligations and £16 million in potential add-ons, while Forest wants a base amount of at least £125 million before any bonuses. Such a position shows that the club from Nottingham does not want to assume the risk of conditional payments, but is seeking almost complete certainty in the value of the deal. In practice, this means that City, if it wants to continue negotiations, would have to significantly increase the fixed part of the offer or find a model that would give Forest guarantees comparable to the biggest transfers in the Premier League. So far, it has not been officially confirmed that Manchester City is ready to take such a step.
According to The Guardian, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis believes that Anderson’s price should be comparable with record sums on the English market. City’s current club record remains the transfer of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, for which The Guardian cited a figure of £100 million from 2021. The offer for Anderson, even in its rejected form, would already have exceeded that threshold and marked one of the most expensive investments in the club’s history. Still, Forest’s rejection shows that the mere fact that an offer is a record one for City is not enough if it does not reach the price the seller considers acceptable. This is a common pattern with players on long contracts, especially when a club does not have to rush into a sale and when the buyer publicly shows strong interest.
Anderson’s rise has changed his market value
Anderson’s development in recent seasons explains why such a high price has formed around him. The Premier League announced that Nottingham Forest signed Anderson from Newcastle United on 1 July 2024 and that the midfielder signed a five-year contract. At the moment of his arrival at the City Ground, he was a player with potential, experience from Newcastle’s academy and a loan spell at Bristol Rovers, but he did not yet have the status of one of the most expensive English midfielders. Two seasons later, according to reports by British media, his profile is viewed differently: as a physically strong, tactically mature and technically reliable midfielder who can play in several roles. That is a change that has allowed Forest to turn its initial investment into a player around whom it can now set record demands.
Sky Sports highlighted in its analysis that Anderson had the most touches among central midfielders in the Premier League last season, 3,300 of them, even though Forest is not a team that traditionally dominates possession. Such a statistic explains why clubs like City see him as a player who can handle a high volume of the ball and make decisions under pressure. The same source describes him as a midfielder who is not primarily a chance creator in the way Declan Rice is at Arsenal, but highlights him for winning back possession and using the ball rationally. For a team that demands control of tempo, aggression in recovering the ball and the ability to play out of pressing from its midfield, such a profile has exceptional value. That is precisely why the high price does not stem only from his passport or age, but from an increasingly rare combination of physical, technical and tactical qualities.
City is looking for a new balance in midfield
Manchester City’s interest in Anderson should also be viewed through the wider context of changes in the squad. The club confirmed on its official website that Bernardo Silva is leaving City at the end of the season, after nine years in which he won 19 major trophies and left a deep mark on the midfield. City also announced that John Stones is leaving after ten years, and although he is primarily a defender, Stones often had a hybrid role in the Pep Guardiola era, stepping into midfield. These departures do not mean that Anderson is arriving as a direct replacement for one player, but they explain why the club is looking for solutions that can bring new energy, control and tactical flexibility. In such a plan, Anderson fits as a player who could play alongside Rodri, but also cover different tasks when City needs a more solid or more dynamic structure.
Sky Sports states that Anderson would significantly expand City’s options in midfield, whether in combination with Rodri or as a solution in matches in which possession and defence need to be balanced differently. This is important because, in recent years, City has not looked only for technically gifted midfielders, but for players who can survive opponents’ pressure and at the same time maintain the rhythm of attack. Anderson’s ability to play as a deeper midfielder, but also as a player who attacks space from deeper areas, makes him interesting for a team that often rotates positions. However, a price above £120 million carries enormous responsibility and leaves little room for the assessment that the player will gradually adapt without pressure. City must therefore weigh whether it wants to complete the deal now, before the World Cup further increases attention around the player, or risk having the search for a midfielder continue with other names.
The World Cup further complicates negotiations
The timing of the negotiations is particularly sensitive because Anderson is with the England national team ahead of the start of its World Cup campaign. The Football Association announced that Thomas Tuchel included Anderson among the 26 players for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the same list confirms that he is one of nine players for whom this will be a first senior major tournament. According to the Football Association’s schedule, England plays its first match against Croatia on 17 June 2026 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, then on 23 June against Ghana in Boston and on 27 June against Panama in New York/New Jersey. This means that on 12 June Anderson is in the final stage of preparations for the tournament, while some of the biggest negotiations of the summer are simultaneously taking place around his club future. For the national team, it is therefore important that the transfer story does not grow into a distraction before the first match.
The Guardian reported that Tuchel wants any player deals during the tournament to proceed in an orderly way and without disrupting preparations. Such an approach is not unusual because major tournaments often come at the same time as the intense phase of the summer market opens, especially for players who are at the beginning or peak of their rise. For Anderson, the situation is additionally complex because good performances at the World Cup could increase Forest’s demands or encourage other clubs to become more actively involved. On the other hand, a weaker tournament would not necessarily significantly reduce his value because Forest still has a long contract and already rejected offers as evidence of market interest. The negotiations are therefore under time pressure, but not necessarily simpler for City.
From Newcastle talent to England international
Anderson’s biography further explains why his rise has drawn the attention of the English public. England Football states in the player profile that he grew up in Whitley Bay, that he had been in Newcastle United’s system from the age of eight and that, before moving to Forest, he made more than 40 appearances for Newcastle’s first team. The same source notes that he played for Scotland at youth levels, from U16 to U21 level, before changing his international allegiance and becoming part of the English system. After success with England’s U21 team at the 2025 European Championship, Tuchel called him into the senior squad during the 2025/26 season. Less than a year later, Anderson secured a place on the plane to North America, making him one of the fastest-rising players in the England national team.
Such a path makes him especially interesting both to sporting directors and to supporters. He is not a typical example of a player who had the status of a global star from his earliest professional days, but a footballer whose value grew through adaptation, work and a change of role. At Forest, he developed from an energetic midfielder with attacking instinct into a more complete player who can influence both phases of the game. This increases his appeal because clubs are increasingly looking for midfielders who do not have to be tied to one position. Anderson’s ability to combine duels, passing and covering space is the reason why his market story now goes beyond ordinary transfer speculation.
What the rejected offer could mean for the rest of the transfer window
After the rejected offer, three scenarios are possible. The first is that City sends a third, improved and perhaps final offer, with a larger guaranteed amount and less reliance on bonuses. The Guardian stated that sporting director Hugo Viana could try again by the end of the week, but such a move has not yet been officially confirmed. The second scenario is a longer battle of nerves, with Forest waiting to see how the World Cup develops and counting on Anderson’s performances to further strengthen his price. The third is that City judges the limit has been reached and directs funds toward other midfielders, which would be in line with media claims that the club does not want an uncontrolled auction.
For Nottingham Forest, the situation is sensitive, but also potentially very favourable. Selling Anderson for a sum above £125 million would be financially transformational and could create room for a broader reconstruction of the squad. Still, losing a player of such influence would carry a major sporting risk, especially if a replacement is not found quickly and according to a plan. Forest can therefore insist on conditions that give it either exceptional revenue or the continuation of work with one of its most important players. City, meanwhile, must decide whether Anderson is worth a sum that would place him alongside the biggest transfers in Premier League history.
At present, the only certain thing is that no agreement has been reached. Anderson is still a Nottingham Forest player, he is part of the England squad for the World Cup and he is at the centre of a transfer story that could define the summer of 2026. Forest is not backing down for now, City must assess its own limit, and the player is entering the most important tournament of his career with his club future open. If negotiations continue, the key will no longer be only the total amount, but how much guaranteed money City is ready to offer and how much Forest is truly ready to risk by waiting for an even bigger offer. Until then, every minute Anderson plays at the World Cup will carry double weight: sporting weight for England and market weight for one of the biggest transfers of the window.
Sources:
- The Guardian – report on Manchester City’s rejected second bid for Elliot Anderson, the structure of the amount and Nottingham Forest’s demand for a record fee (link)
- Sky Sports – data on the first rejected offer, Anderson’s contract until 2029, interest from other clubs and analysis of his role in midfield (link)
- Premier League – official news on Anderson’s transfer from Newcastle United to Nottingham Forest and the signing of a five-year contract in 2024 (link)
- England Football – official England squad list for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and confirmation of Anderson’s place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad (link)
- England Football – England’s Group L match schedule at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (link)
- England Football – Elliot Anderson profile, development path, youth national teams and entry into the senior squad (link)
- Manchester City – official announcement on Bernardo Silva’s departure at the end of the season and his contribution to the club (link)
- Manchester City – official announcement on John Stones leaving after ten years at the club (link)