Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Elliot Anderson for a club-record fee of £116 million. But what makes him so special?
Anderson’s rise has been swift. Having come through the youth ranks at Newcastle United, he spent 11 years at the club before making his senior debut in 2021. He then moved to Forest for a fee of around £35 million in 2024 — reportedly to aid Newcastle in their bid to avoid a possible points penalty due to a breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR).
His performances immediately helped Forest to finish seventh — after they ended the previous season in 17th — and amid a tricky 2025-26 season that combined a relegation battle with European football, the 23-year-old shot to prominence and marked himself out as one of the best central midfielders in Europe.
Finishing the Premier League season as the outfield leader in touches (3,300), duels won (297), fouls won (80), and possessions won (306), he was also in the top five for total passes and tackles.
Rob Dawson and Tor-Kristian Karlsen explore why City spent so much to bring him in.
Why have Man City moved for him now?
City’s pursuit of Anderson follows a regular recent pattern in the club’s approach to the transfer market.
Center back Marc Guéhi (£20 million, Crystal Palace) and winger Antoine Semenyo (£62.5 million, Bournemouth) were both able to slot in seamlessly after joining in January, in part because of their Premier League experience. Players coming from other countries can take time to get used to the pace and physicality of the league; City had no such worries with them.
For City’s recruitment team, it’s one less thing to worry about when making a big-money signing. And it’s one of the reasons why City have parted with so much to land Anderson, despite the midfielder spending just two years at Nottingham Forest.
Anderson has already shown he can cope with the demands of the Premier League. City’s last two midfield signings — Tijjani Reijnders and Nico González — failed to fully convince former boss Pep Guardiola and endured frustrating seasons when they were in and out of the team.
He ticks a lot of other boxes, too. At 23 years old, he’s got his best years ahead of him; his stats speak for themselves; he got experience of European football in the Europa League last season; and he has shown he can cope in big games — particularly when scoring in a 2-2 draw with City at the Etihad Stadium in March.
There’s always an element of risk with any big signing, but City have tried to eliminate as many of the unknowns as possible and hope he can be part of their midfield for the next decade.
Strengthening the midfield has been a priority this summer. Bernardo Silva, a huge part of the success under Guardiola, has left on a free transfer, and there are doubts about the futures of both Reijnders and González.
Meanwhile, there will also be concerns about the future of 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, until he signs a contract extension. The 29-year-old Spain international is into the last year of his contract and has done little to play down talk of a possible move to Real Madrid — even if City remain suspicious about whether the Spanish giants hold genuine interest.
So signing Anderson is a transfer for now and also for the future in an area of the squad which needs attention. And that is why it cost so much. — Dawson.
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Laurens questions Elliot Anderson valuation after £120m Man City bid
How will he fit tactically at City?
Anderson did offer some clues to his tremendous talent early on, making his mark in the youth international ranks — first with Scotland up to U21 level before switching allegiance to England U21s in 2024 — but even so it’s fair to say he’s had a quick rise since he joined Nottingham Forest.
The logic behind the move to Manchester City is not hard to grasp, as Anderson does all the things a central midfielder has to do and he does them at a high volume, with maximum intensity and incredible consistency. In fact, few elite central midfielders tick as many boxes.
On the ball, he pairs excellent spatial awareness with a good first touch and a forward-thinking passing game. Off it, he is a relentless presser with stamina that rarely fades, which allows him to cover huge areas (he had the second-most total distance covered in Premier League last season) and make tackles with bite.
The data very much backs up what is clear for the eye to see: Anderson wants the ball, he turns swiftly to open up options, moves it on intelligently, and drives his team up the pitch with his positive passing. And he did this every week in a struggling Forest side, so you can only imagine what impact he will have at an elite club like City.
While his overall volume in the center of midfield is remarkable enough, his attacking output also deserves more credit than it tends to get; four goals and four assists in the Premier League appears a respectable base rather than a ceiling.
In a more possession-dominant structure which is built to attack, Anderson should easily improve on those figures — especially since he has the vision and ability to push into the box.
His flexibility and range hands expected new City boss Enzo Maresca some intriguing options. He can sit deeper as a No. 6 or push up as a box-to-box No. 8 — or in between the two as a connector, which is role he fills for England — or you can even push him higher in a midfield three as a No. 10, where his final-third passing, high-speed combinational game, mid-range shooting and appetite to press will be put to great use.
Even at 23, he seemingly has a complete skillset and will knit play together for City wherever he is deployed.– Karlsen
