Manchester City paid more for Elliot Anderson than they have ever paid for anyone. On 25 June, the BBC reported that City had agreed a club-record £116m deal with Nottingham Forest for the England midfielder, who is 23.
The fee is where accounts differ. City sources told the BBC it is £116m flat, with no bonuses. Other sources put it at up to £130m, which would beat the £125m Liverpool paid Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer and set a British record. Anderson was due a medical before the move is completed.
It took three bids. Forest turned down two earlier offers and held out for more. Personal terms were never expected to be a problem, and there was always some confidence that a deal would get done once City made a third bid. Forest, for their part, are interested in Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall and Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi, and are expected to sign two midfielders this summer.
Anderson, meanwhile, was getting ready for England’s last Group L game at the World Cup, against Panama on Saturday at 22:00 BST. He told the BBC he was keeping his club future out of his head. “It’s pretty easy really, I’m just focusing on the present, I’m blocking it all out,” he said. “I’ve got a plan and it’s to perform for England.”
From Newcastle to City
He joined Forest from Newcastle for £35m in 2024 and has played 88 times for them, scoring four goals. Anderson joined Newcastle, his boyhood club, at eight and made his first-team debut in 2021, going on to play 55 games before the sale. Newcastle feared breaking profit and sustainability rules and losing points, which effectively forced it. Manager Eddie Howe called it “the most reluctant in my career”.
At Forest he started regularly from the first day. They finished seventh in 2024-25 and qualified for Europe, then finished 16th last season while also reaching the Europa League semi-finals. He switched from Scotland youth teams to England’s under-21s in August 2024 and made his senior debut in September 2025.
His numbers last season led the Premier League in four categories: 3,300 touches, 306 possessions won, 297 duels won and 80 fouls drawn. His goals doubled from two to four. His assists fell from six to four.
