The Player Who Prompted a £120 Million Bid Rejection

Where did he come from? Meet Elliott Anderson, City and United’s “player of contention”\n\nSports 5 Published: 10.06.26, 23:19 Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images | Photo: Sports 5\n\nElliott Anderson has become one of the hottest names in world football. The Nottingham Forest midfielder could become the most expensive English player of all time after receiving a £120 million offer, a bid Forest rejected from Manchester City. Manchester City are interested as well, and he is expected to become the most expensive Englishman in history.\n\nThe 22-year-old Anderson is considered the perfect midfielder, a player who can contribute both defensively and offensively and move the ball forward. His physicality was part of Forest’s impressive campaign last season, a campaign that almost ended in a Champions League place. Anderson could even be a starter at the upcoming World Cup, as he is regarded as a player with a high work rate and has even been compared to Declan Rice.\n\nAnderson and Rice. There is a resemblance (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) | Photo: Sports 5\n\n"Anderson is a brilliant player," claimed The Athletic. "He set the tone for an amazing season, he can do everything and is in the right place. It is no coincidence that both Manchester clubs want him. In a league that is becoming more direct, he contributes defensively and offensively, is dangerous in transition and covers a lot of ground. He has touched the ball more than anyone else, dominant and winning the ball at a high rate."\n\nNo other player in Europe’s top leagues has touched the ball more than Anderson, who did so in 14% of Forest’s touches, an almost unbelievable figure. His intensity has made him an important defensive player, one who knows how to cover ground and win the ball anywhere in the game, alongside good dribbling and impressive passing ability, including crosses. Anderson has even shown that he can play as a winger if needed, and he excelled in a difficult season for Forest in which there were four different managers.\n\nAt bigger clubs, Anderson will likely be asked to do different things, and probably more attacking ones, but he can play both as a No. 6 and as a No. 8, which could be useful for any of the big clubs and, as mentioned, for the England national team, where he is expected to start. The player, who grew up at Newcastle and left them for Forest, is considered a hard-working player who has improved year by year and broke through late. Unusually, he moved from Scotland’s youth team to England’s youth team and from there to the senior side.\n\nAdvertisement\n\n"He has exceptional control of the ball," continued the English outlet. "The combination of precise movement off the ball and his passing has made him a dangerous player, one who gets close to the box and can move the ball from outside it. With better players than those he had alongside him at Nottingham Forest, his numbers are likely to rise, especially when there is better movement around him into depth."\n\nOnly three players have ever been sold for more than £120 million: Alexander Isak, for £125 million, Kylian Mbappe for £165.7 million, and Neymar for £200 million. As a result, Anderson could become the most expensive player since Mbappe thanks to his ability to contribute on both sides of the pitch, a contribution that is reflected not only in the numbers.\n\nCity offered £106 million before bonuses, a sum that could rise to £120 million with add-ons. That was the club’s second bid, and it is expected to submit another offer in the future. He could be the team’s central midfield figure in the years ahead, especially with Bernardo Silva’s departure and Rodri getting older.\n\nWe have seen plenty of young players cost huge sums, especially as football fees continue to rise. Few of them have shown the versatility of Elliott Anderson, a player who can play in any midfield role and meet the demands of modern football. In Anderson’s best games, it seems as if there are three different "Andersons" on the pitch at once. For a club like Manchester City or United? That is a strategic asset for the next decade, no less.\n\nEnglish league\n\nDid you find a language error?