Manchester City are in pole position to sign Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson this summer, Sky Sports News understands.
City are among a number of big clubs that want to sign him – including Manchester United and Arsenal – and well-placed sources increasingly believe he is destined for the Etihad.
The England international, 23, has been interesting a number of Premier League rivals since joining Forest from Newcastle United in July 2024 for a fee of £35m.
Elliot Anderson is expected to play a prominent role in midfield for England at this summer’s World Cup
It remains to be seen whether a deal can be agreed before or after the World Cup, where Anderson is expected to play a prominent role for Thomas Tuchel and England.
Anderson’s contract at the City Ground runs until June 2029, and his value is expected to be considerable as he is part of a group of elite central midfielders set to be on the market in the next window, which includes Sandro Tonali, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba and potentially Aurelian Tchouameni.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Clinton Morrison tells the Premier League Show why he thinks more than Manchester City will be interested in Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Elliot Anderson.
City admire how Anderson has developed since joining Forest from Newcastle and relations between the two clubs are thought to be excellent.
There may be changes in City’s midfield this summer, with uncertainty around the futures of Mateo Kovacic and Nico Gonzalez, while it’s already been confirmed Bernardo Silva will leave when his contract expires in June.
Real Madrid are also interested in Rodri – but City want him to stay and sign a new contract, with his existing deal expiring in 2027.
City eyeing attacking additions this summer
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Take a look at some of the best goals scored by Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi.
The club are also looking at other positions, including forwards, and Sky Sports News can reveal two more names on their list of potential new recruits – RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande and Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi.
Diomande is one of the hottest prodigies on the market this summer, and is high on the lists at Liverpool and Bayern Munich among others.
Kroupi is an excellent young prospect who has impressed since moving to Bournemouth last summer, scoring 11 goals in 29 Premier League appearances.
City are currently well-stocked across the forward line however, with Savinho supporting Jeremy Doku on the left-wing and Omar Marmoush the backup centre-forward to Erling Haaland.
Right-back is also an area City are looking at and Sky Sports News has already reported they are tracking the progress of young Feyenoord defender Givairo Read among others.
Analysis: Anderson or Rodri? Why not both
Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:
There will be a natural compulsion to compare Elliot Anderson directly to Rodri as Man City try to fend off competition from across the Premier League to sign the Nottingham Forest midfielder this summer. But admiring their compatibility is equally interesting.
Of course there are similarities to like. Both are the profile of midfielder you anchor a side around; they run hard and are formidable at breaking up play. But their functions quite obviously differ because of the teams they play for.
Anderson is needed as a tough tackler, the third-most prolific in this category in the division, while Rodri is much more passive in this area given Man City spend the majority of time in possession of the ball. Anderson has also won 270 duels, a league high, more than double that of the Spaniard (106).
But Rodri is elite at distributing under pressure, boasting an incredibly high retention rate, with few in Europe matching his ability to recycle possession and punch through the thirds. Since his ACL injury last season, though, he is much less inclined to carry the ball – something Anderson is superb at. Availability is also a strength of the 23-year-old, six years Rodri’s junior.
There is certainly a world, then, where a Rodri-Anderson partnership would serve City well, used together or in rotation. Anderson would of course need to guard against the fate of other high profile midfielders that have travelled to the Etihad with high promise and flopped. Kalvin Phillips is the best example of that.
But take Matheus Nunes as another instance of a midfielder whose function had to change to full-back in order to avoid being cut adrift of Pep Guardiola’s plans. He is a demanding man to work for, and this is not a role he likes to mess with.
