- Manchester United is still in the race for Elliot Anderson
- English midfielder in the middle of a sublime season
- Could cost up to £120 million
Manchester United remain “seriously” in the race for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson as multiple Premier League sides look prepped to bid for the Englishman.
With United edging towards a midfield rebuild—Casemiro set to leave and Manuel Ugarte potentially following suit—the summer window points to heavy turnover. The club will need to commit tens of millions to reshape the core.
At the top of the shortlist sits Nottingham Forest’s box-to-box engine Anderson, who could command a fee of up to £120 million. The Red Devils aren’t the only ones keen on the England international.
After a spellbinding season—despite the Midlands-based club languishing in 16th—Anderson is the target of multiple Premier League sides, with Manchester City currently leading the race.
Manchester Battle For Anderson
United are still in with a shot, and if they can convince the English international to join the red side of Manchester, it could be a telltale sign for the years to come. He is one of the most highly-regarded midfielders in the Premier League.
According to Sky Sport Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, “Forest expect Manchester United to remain seriously in the race for Elliot Anderson. Manchester City have also registered their interest, although their current focus is on extending Rodri’s contract.
“So far, no club has made direct contact with Forest. A fee in the region of £100-120 million is still being demanded.”
BBC Sport also reported on 19 March that, “Multiple sources have told BBC Sport that City are the clear frontrunners to land Anderson at the end of the season. That is not to say United will abandon their interest.”
“While United would be wary of getting involved in an auction over wages with their city rivals, they are prepared to make a substantial effort to sign Anderson.
“And while many of the early indicators point towards Anderson, who has also attracted interest from Bayern Munich, moving to Etihad Stadium, United can point to the fact that Sesko appeared close to joining Arsenal or Newcastle last summer only for the striker to eventually land at Old Trafford.
“But, for obvious reasons, United are not putting all their eggs in the Anderson basket.”
There are three other key targets that United have identified to replace the departing Casemiro. It will be interesting to see whether one or two new midfielders arrive.
Manchester United’s midfield search
Data taken from DataMB
The four identified candidates to replace the Brazilian read as follows.
Among them, Sandro Tonali (pink), Adam Wharton (green), Carlos Baleba (yellow), and Elliot Anderson (blue), Anderson stands out across the key metrics.
Most notably, he leads the group for forward passes, forward pass percentage, and progressive passes.
He also ranks second for ball carrying, possession won, and key passes.
Even in the one area where he does not break into the top two—duels won percentage—he still posts a respectable 64.8%.
Because of that, Anderson now sits in high demand.
With Bayern Munich and Manchester City both targeting him this summer, Manchester United will likely need to commit heavily to ensure he ends up at Old Trafford.
