Manchester City Intensify Pursuit of Elliot Anderson After Bid Rejection
Manchester City refuse to blink. Nottingham Forest have slapped a £100 million price tag on Elliot Anderson and knocked back the champions’ first offer, yet the pursuit is only accelerating.
City want this done quickly. Not before the window closes. Not “in due course”. Now.
City push on after opening bid rejected
An initial bid went in earlier this week for the 23-year-old midfielder. Forest turned it down, standing firm on a valuation in the £100m region for the England international, who has become one of the most coveted box-to-box players in the Premier League.
The rejection has not cooled City’s interest. Inside the Etihad, the message is clear: Anderson is the priority. Talks are expected to move into a more detailed phase, with both clubs trying to find a fee that sits somewhere between Forest’s asking price and City’s lower valuation.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is understood to be taking a hands-on role in the negotiations from the City Ground. Figures as high as £125m have previously been associated with Forest’s stance, while City see the deal closer to £80m. That leaves a sizeable gap, and not much appetite on either side to waste time.
Medical green light during World Cup
The chase has already spilled into the international scene. England manager Thomas Tuchel has allowed Anderson to undergo a Manchester City medical during the FIFA World Cup in North America, a rare concession that underlines just how far advanced this move could be.
Anderson, formerly of Newcastle United, has made his preference clear. With interest from Manchester United in the background, the midfielder has indicated he wants City. For a player whose game is built on energy, timing and late runs from deep, the lure of stepping into a side that dominates the ball and the trophies is obvious.
Maresca’s first major piece
Inside City’s football department, the plan has been building for months. Director of football Hugo Viana and incoming manager Enzo Maresca both identified Anderson long ago as the ideal successor to Bernardo Silva, whose departure has left a creative and tactical void in midfield.
Maresca’s pre-season begins in July. He wants his key pieces in place by then, not arriving in dribs and drabs once the serious work has started. Anderson is at the centre of that plan, the player earmarked to give City fresh legs, vertical thrust and another goal threat from midfield.
The urgency reflects that. City are not just testing the water; they are trying to close.
Tonali in the background, Anderson front and centre
Sandro Tonali of Newcastle United has been scouted and discussed as an alternative if Forest hold their ground and the numbers become impossible. City are monitoring that route, weighing up the market as any elite club must.
Yet the focus, for now, stays on Anderson. He is the first choice, the profile Maresca wants, the player City have tracked for the best part of a year. The champions do not want a long saga. They want clarity before pre-season, and they are prepared to push hard to get it.
Forest know they hold a powerful card: a 23-year-old England international under contract, in demand, and improving. City know they hold another: the chance for Anderson to step straight into a side chasing every trophy on offer under a new manager eager to build around him.
Something has to give. The only question now is whether it’s the price, the patience, or the player’s wait to walk through the doors at the Etihad.
