The Nottingham Forest midfielder could soon change soccer history.
Manchester City are reportedly willing to make Elliot Anderson the most expensive English player in history, but negotiations with a stubborn Nottingham Forest must continue before a Anderson emerged during 2025–26 as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, playing his way into the national team in time for the 2026 World Cup.
The 23-year-old has an all-round skillset that City have identified would strengthen their ranks in the post-Pep Guardiola era, while Anderson is equally of interest to crosstown rivals Manchester United. ’s David Ornstein both relayed news on Wednesday of an offer from City starting at $141.7 million guaranteed and rising with conditional add-ons to more than $160.4 million .
The fixed portion alone of that monstrous proposal marginally eclipses the total value of Arsenal’s 2023 agreement to sign Declan Rice, who holds the current transfer record for an English player. But that isn’t yet enough to persuade Forest, who are thought to be seeking more guaranteed money from a prospective deal. Ornstein cites the 2025 transfer of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United to Liverpool, in which the striker moved for $167.1 million guaranteed, plus negligible add-ons, as a marker.
Man City know precisely what Anderson can do. | Gareth Copley/Getty Imagesare already very close to matching Nottingham Forest’s valuation of Anderson and don’t consider $160 million too much, with the breakdown of guaranteed money and add-ons the main sticking point.are in a strong position to command such money, with the player still under contract for three more years and no danger of looming free agency.
Anderson’s form, including big performances against both Manchester clubs in recent months, and high ceiling also fuels that power. From Forest’s perspective, selling Anderson is not ideal. But the situation is effectively win-win—either no team meets the valuation and he stays for another year, or they bank what ought to have been a prohibitive number and have mega funds to reinvest back into the squad. Declan Rice wasn’t a huge amount cheaper in 2023.
| Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images Precedent plays a huge role in the transfer market. If a club has seen other players sold in a certain ballpark, it will often dictate how that club then values its own players. The obvious deal driving Forest’s valuation of Anderson is Isak.
However, it’s not like-for-like and the Swede can hardly be considered a success at the end of his first season as a Liverpool player. After initially lacking fitness and form, Isak then ultimately spent months sidelined with a broken leg before injury again derailed his return. But pricing Anderson at almost $170 million isn’t as wild as it might seem compared to what other midfielders have cost Premier League clubs in the last few years.
Consider the aforementioned Rice, as well as Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo. The latter is not just an example of Chelsea skewing the market either, given that Liverpool also had a similar offer accepted for the Ecuadorian. All three examples were transfers in 2023, with elite soccer becoming ever richer in the three years since and clubs moving the goalposts accordingly.
Back in 1993, it was Nottingham Forest that sold Roy Keane to Manchester United for what was then a British record transfer fee: £3.75 million . Blackburn Rovers had actually offered more money in an effort to sign the eventual Hall of Famer. It’s all relative. Anderson has huge long-term upside.
| Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images What seems like exorbitant money in 2026, probably won’t be in 2030, 2033 or 2036. This is not just a short-term investment. Anderson, who turns 24 in November, is young enough to stay at his next club for a decade. Through that lens, the best part of $170 million might become good value.
Through Manchester City’s glory years, it’s not been uncommon for expensively-bought players to put in nine or 10 years of service, thinking about David Silva, Yaya Touré, Sergio Agüero, Kevin De Bruyne, and latterly John Stones and Bernardo Silva. The club will sometimes turn over players quickly, but those who are productive often stay for the long haul and are easily worth the money.
Of course, it depends on Anderson being a success and justifying the level of investment, but Manchester City also rarely get it wrong in the transfer market. Jamie Spencer is a freelance editor and writer for Sports Illustrated FC. Jamie fell in love with football in the mid-90s and specializes in the Premier League, Manchester United, the women’s game and old school nostalgia.
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