Manchester City have made the first move in the race to sign Elliot Anderson but Nottingham Forest have rejected their opening bid for the England international.
The midfielder’s future looks set to be one of the transfer sagas of the summer, with Manchester United also very keen on his signature.
The 23-year-old moved to the City Ground from Newcastle in 2024 and has quickly built a glowing reputation as one of the most effective midfielders in the country.
Anderson is expected to be in Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI at this summer’s World Cup, playing alongside Declan Rice in the England engine room.
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It is little surprise that big clubs have come calling for the Forest star and it looks to be a shootout between the Manchester giants.
The Athletic report that Manchester City have launched their first bid for Anderson, but it has been rejected by Forest.
That has not ended City’s interest in the seven-cap England star, but he is going to be extremely expensive if any club is going to bring him in this summer.
The size of City’s bid has not been revealed, but the report states that Nottingham Forest expect Anderson’s price tag to fall in line with other big moves in his position in recent years.
When Chelsea signed Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Enzo Fernandez from Benfica, they paid over £100m each time, as did Arsenal when they brought in Declan Rice from West Ham.
Forest see Anderson in the same category as those three transfers and are unlikely to let him go for under the £100m mark as a result.
City might up their bid to that level, but United are reportedly far less likely to do so and will consider cheaper midfield targets.
Ederson is one of those less expensive targets, with a deal to bring the Brazilian to Old Trafford from Atalanta agreed.
The 26-year-old is still to have a medical, but a £35m deal has been struck for Manchester United to complete their first signing of the summer.
The Red Devils are likely to sign two central midfielders in the transfer window, as regular starter Casemiro departs, and are looking at the likes of Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and West Ham’s Matheus Fernandes as other options.
Neither of those targets would be cheap, though, with the Hammers slapping an £80m price tag on Fernandes.
Baleba was of interest to the Red Devils last summer, but Brighton informed them he was not for sale.
The 22-year-old did not have a great season with the Seagulls, but he would reportedly be extremely keen to make the move to Old Trafford.
Brighton have proved very good at selling players in recent years and it is unlikely Manchester United would get Baleba for less than the £80m West Ham want for Fernandes.