Manchester City have reached an agreement with Nottingham Forest to sign midfielder Elliot Anderson in a deal that could shatter the British transfer record. The package, reported at £106 million with performance-related add-ons potentially pushing the total beyond £120 million, represents the kind of spending that makes even Premier League accountants do a double take.
Anderson, 23, has gone from a £35 million signing to a player valued at roughly three times that amount in the space of two years.
How the deal came together
City’s pursuit of Anderson was not a one-bid affair. An initial offer of £85 million was rejected by Forest, who clearly understood the leverage they held with a player under a long-term contract and multiple suitors circling. City came back with the £106 million verbal package, and that proved to be the number that moved the needle.
Manchester United had also expressed interest in Anderson, adding competitive tension to the negotiations. But City established themselves as frontrunners early and never relinquished that position. Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano was among those tracking the deal’s rapid progression, which moved from opening conversations to an agreement in relatively short order.
