Manchester United are ready to approach Nottingham Forest over a summer move for Elliot Anderson, with Manchester City also in the race for the 25-year-old midfielder. The England international has become the top target for both clubs, and club-to-club talks are expected to begin after a shift in Forest’s situation made an approach more realistic.
Ben Jacobs said United will move quite quickly on at least two midfielders because Manuel Ugarte could be sold and Casemiro is leaving, but Elliot Anderson remains their number one priority. He added that City are pushing and confident of agreeing terms with the player, while United now have Champions League football and are prepared to spend heavily on a midfield revamp. Jacobs also said United and City will both go to Forest to find out the price, with the expectation that formal talks begin soon. For more on the pursuit, see Man Utd Elliot Anderson Transfer Race Heats Up With Forest Talks.
The timing matters because Forest’s position has changed. Last week they were beaten by Aston Villa in the semi-final, leaving them out of the UEFA Europa League and safely clear of relegation from the Premier League. Jacobs said that earlier in the season, when Forest could still have gone down and were not yet secure in Europe, the landscape for a deal looked very different. Now, he said, the window is open for clubs to test the market.
That still does not mean Anderson will be cheap. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is likely to demand a big fee, and some reports have suggested more than £100million could be needed. No price has been quoted to interested clubs yet, which means United and City are moving into the first real stage of the chase rather than the finish line. Jacobs said the potential fee has always been extreme and remains variable because Forest’s season has moved the negotiating position several times.
Jacobs said the player himself is not agitating for a move or desperate to leave before the World Cup, but that the current moment is the right one for suitors to go to Nottingham Forest. He said everything is now falling into place for more clarity in the coming days or weeks ahead of the World Cup, with Marinakis expected to handle any exit personally. For United, the interest fits a broader plan to add two midfielders. For City, it is part of a push to secure the top midfield target on their list. What happens next now depends on how far Forest are willing to go before the first proper bid is on the table.
