Manchester City’s initial bid for Elliot Anderson has been rejected by Nottingham Forest, opening the first real round of negotiation over a midfielder who has become one of the summer’s most closely watched names. City are now considering what to offer next, while Forest hold firm for a player tied to them until 2029.
The rejection matters because Anderson is not an ordinary target. He is 23, expected to be an important part of England’s World Cup bid in two weeks’ time, and has become one of the Premier League’s most sought-after central midfielders after a season in which he made 3,300 touches, more than any other player in his position.
City’s interest is not arriving in a vacuum. Arsenal and Manchester United are among the other clubs tracking him, and Forest know they are negotiating from strength after signing him from Newcastle in 2024 on a contract that runs to the summer of 2029. That long deal gives Forest leverage that many selling clubs do not have, especially when the buyer is trying to move quickly before rivals step in.
There has already been some movement away from the table. Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak met Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Maranakis in Budapest last weekend at a dinner linked with the Champions League final, a setting that now looks more like the start of a transfer conversation than a social engagement. The rejected bid followed soon after, confirming that the talks have moved beyond casual interest.
The sticking point is not whether Anderson is wanted. It is how high City are prepared to go, and how far Forest believe they can push them. Midfielders of similar standing have moved for more than £100m in recent windows, with deals for Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Declan Rice reshaping the market and giving selling clubs a new benchmark for elite central midfielders.
That is why the next bid matters more than the first one. City are thought to be in pole position to sign Anderson, but Forest have already shown they will not accept the opening offer simply because one of England’s biggest clubs has made it. The amount City put on the table first has not been made public, and that silence may now decide how fast this deal moves, or whether it drags into a longer summer battle.
For Anderson, the coming days may bring the clearest answer yet about how far City are willing to go for a 23-year-old who has become central to both club and country plans. For Forest, the message is simpler: they have a valuable player, a long contract, and no reason to surrender him cheaply.
