Cameron Smith
Michael Carrick, Man Utd
© IMAGO
Manchester United will reportedly be forced to pay a Premier League transfer record fee for a midfielder if they are to secure the signing of Elliot Anderson this summer.
The Nottingham Forest star has been earmarked as the Red Devils’ primary transfer target for the upcoming window and they are set to battle arch-rivals Manchester City for his signature following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
Anderson, 23, has been in sensational form this campaign and he is expected to play a pivotal role for England at this summer’s World Cup, having nailed down a starting berth alongside Declan Rice in recent months.
The former Newcastle United midfielder is Man Utd’s dream candidate to replace the departing Casemiro, although Man City want him amid the imminent exit of Bernardi Silva, while Chelsea have also been linked with a move as they prepare for a major summer window.
Man Utd are also monitoring the likes of Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba, Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and several other Premier League midfielders, but Anderson is their priority target. However, they will be forced to pay a fee higher than the €121 million that Chelsea spent on Enzo Fernandez in January 2023, as per David Ornstein.
Speaking to The Athletic" href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7198502/2026/04/16/manchester-united-arsenal-liverpool-gordon-transfers/" target="_blank">The Athletic, the transfer expert said: “If they sell, Forest want to break the Premier League transfer record for a midfielder, and if they stay true to that, will both of those suitors [Man City and Man Utd] be willing to pay it?
“Anderson also already earns in excess of £100,000 per week, so you’re going to need to offer him an extremely high salary. Clubs are calling Forest but they are focusing solely on the end of their campaign, with no proper negotiations for now. And Anderson is said to be behaving impeccably in not agitating for a move. He also has a World Cup to think about.”
Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest
© IMAGO - Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest
Analysis: How much is Elliot Anderson worth?
Anderson has been in superb form for Nottingham Forest this campaign, but their asking price is far higher than his current Estimated Transfer Value (ETV), which stands at €52.4m.
This places the Englishman as the 18th most valuable central midfielder in the Premier League as things stand, although this figure could rise exponentially if he performs well at the upcoming World Cup.
Furthermore, data analytics experts SciSports" href="https://recruitment.scisports.app/players/41592/sciskill" target="_blank">SciSports rate Anderson extremely highly and they believe he would be the fourth-best player in Man Utd’s current first-team squad, behind only Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and club captain Bruno Fernandes.
His potential SciSkill rating of 124.9 would also be the second-highest of any Red Devils star, with Leny Yoro in first place and Benjamin Sesko narrowly behind in third.
As a result, it’s clear that Anderson would be an excellent signing for Man Utd, but Forest’s asking price is significantly more than it should be.
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