Elliot Anderson has been linked with a move to Manchester City.placeholder image
Elliot Anderson has been linked with a move to Manchester City. | Getty Images
Manchester City have been linked with an ambitious move for in-form Nottingham Forest star Elliott Anderson
Nottingham Forest have had a turbulent and chaotic start to what most fans had hoped would be one of their most exciting campaigns of the century.
The Tricky Trees sit 17th in the table and only a point away from the drop zone. They have lost both of their matches in the Europa League, were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by second-tier opposition, are winless since the opening day of the season, and are now believed to be edging towards making their second managerial change of the season just over a month after swapping Nuno Espirito Santo for Ange Postecoglou.
However, one bright spark to emerge from this season of chaos so far has been the progress of star midfielder Elliot Anderson.
The former Newcastle United man had already impressed in his debut season at the City Ground but now finds himself at the centre of national attention after bursting onto the scene for Thomas Tuchel’s England squad in both of the last two international breaks.
Many see him as the perfect player to go into the Three Lions lineup alongside Declan Rice at next summer’s World Cup due to his incredible stamina, ability on the ball and his strength and tenacity to break up opposition attacks and dictate the midfield battle.
He’s emerged as a real fan favourite at Nottingham Forest for obvious reasons. But with all the hype surrounding the player comes speculation - and if recent reports from The Express among others are to be believed, Manchester City are one of the frontrunners to sign Anderson, with a £75m price tag being touted by the media.
Why Elliot Anderson is rapidly becoming one of the most coveted players in English football
Many eyebrows were raised less than 18 months ago when Forest signed Elliot Anderson from Newcastle United for a reported £35m.
At the time, Anderson had only played 43 games of Premier League football for the Magpies and 13 of those were starts. He’d been dipped into the waters of the top-flight with substitute appearances but very few knew if he could swim at this point based on his lack of experience.
No Newcastle fan wanted to lose Anderson, he was an academy graduate with plenty of hype from an impressive loan spell at Bristol Rovers where Joey Barton had dubbed him the ‘Geordie Maradona’ and it was clear that he had a lot of untapped potential that he hadn’t quite been able to prove due to the presence of fine midfielders like Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, who were ahead of him in the pecking order.However, the move was largely motivated by needing to fulfill PSR regulations, and Forest in this case pounced and took a gamble on the young midfielder.
It’s proven a masterstroke and he’s since made 51 appearances for Forest, scoring twice and contributing seven assists while starting almost every league match.
According to data website Fbref, he made the eighth most tackles in the league last season while also making the third most ball recoveries in the division behind only Moises Caicedo and Bruno Fernandes.
Since winning the European Under-21 Championship with England, and then breaking into the senior Three Lions squad, Anderson has continued to show immense consistency despite his team’s shortcomings. He sits seventh in the list of completed tackles in the division, has made the most progressive passes in the league and has made the most ball recoveries in the entire league.
It’s clear to see why Manchester City would need someone like that given their reliance on Rodri in recent seasons and the fact that Anderson at this moment shares some of the qualities that made the Spaniard so great. However, Anderson isn’t only a target for Manchester City and it’s worth noting that former club Newcastle United along with Chelsea have also been linked.
“From my perspective, I would love him too (return),” Eddie Howe said. “I’m very respectful of the fact he is at another football club and I would never normally talk about a player in that way, so, I won’t change that stance.
The bold swap offer Manchester City could make to Nottingham Forest
Manchester City face a real battle to get their hands on Elliot Anderson amid interest from a series of top clubs. However, the Cityzens could use their big squad to their advantage in an attempt to try and entice Nottingham Forest to do business.
One player that they could exchange to Forest as part of an Anderson deal could be Rico Lewis. The City academy graduate has also played for England - picking up five caps but has struggled to make it into recent squads since Thomas Tuchel’s arrival.
Lewis is a talented player that primarily operates as a right-back but can also be deployed in holding midfield. He's played 100 times for City in total at the age of 20, scoring five times and contributing 10 assists. However, he’s not yet established himself as a regular starter and could benefit from a move to a team like Forest, who as they did with Anderson when they got him from Newcastle, could get the best out of a young and upcoming diamond.
Any transfer of this sort would likely involve City making a significant upfront offer while including Lewis as part of the deal, and it’d likely depend on how highly City value Lewis and whether he’d fit in at Forest.
It’d also depend on whether Anderson wants a return to his boyhood club, who have significant funds to spend following the sale of Alexander Isak, and whether Lewis would be willing to stay and fight for his place.
It’s worth noting that Forest do have a shortage at right-back with Ola Aina sustaining a long-term injurym, meaning Lewis could be a sensible signing anyway. But whether they’d be happy for Anderson to leave is a different matter entirely.
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