Chelsea are very interested in Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson as a potential replacement for Enzo Fernández, whose future at Stamford Bridge remains up in the air. The Blues have Moisés Caicedo, Fernández, Romeo Lavia, Dario Essugo, and Andrey Santos as midfield options right now. However, Lavia has been injured a lot, and Essugo has had a season full of fitness problems.
Since moving to the City Ground in the summer of 2024, Elliot Anderson has become one of the most sought-after players in English football. He left Newcastle United for a fee of £35 million. The 23-year-old has played 2,774 minutes in 31 starts in the 2025/26 Premier League season, scoring two goals and assisting two others. Liam Rosenior’s team have been impressed by those performances and think Anderson could be the perfect player to strengthen their midfield this summer.
Arsenal, on the other hand, really like what the 23-year-old has to offer and think they might be able to strike a deal. The Gunners already have Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi, and Christian Norgaard as midfielders, but Mikel Arteta is said to want to add another midfielder who has Premier League experience this summer.
Manchester City Lead the Race as Chelsea, Others Battle for Anderson’s Signature
As Chelsea and Arsenal fight for position, Manchester City are currently in the lead to sign Anderson. Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Citizens are in advanced talks with the player’s agents. It has been reported that a deal can be concluded if bids of around £90 million to £100 million are made.
Newcastle want to bring Anderson back to St James’ Park, but they can only afford to do so if they sell either Bruno Guimarães or Sandro Tonali. Transfer expert Christian Falk has downplayed Bayern Munich’s interest, saying that the Bavarian club think the midfielder is too expensive.
Anderson’s contract with Forest runs until 2029, so they don’t have to sell him. They also think he is worth more than £100 million. The England international can play as a box-to-box midfielder, a deep-lying playmaker, or even a wide forward. This makes him a great option for any top club that wants to improve its squad before the next season.