Man City agree mega deal for Elliot Anderson - but stop short of paying British record fee

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Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest which will fall just short of the British record amount.

Forest had played hardball in the early weeks of the summer transfer window and were determined to land more than the £125million that took Alexander Isak from Newcastle to Liverpool last summer.

The Athletic reports that City, who saw an opening offer turned down, have eventually agreed a deal worth a staggering £116m up front. The Premier League side had made the 23-year-old their top target this summer and, despite Anderson's huge price tag, were not put off.

City's own club record transfer was the £100m they paid to land Jack Grealish in 2021, but they will now exceed that fee to land Anderson.

Anderson has been given permission to undertake a medical in New York on Friday with the deal still subject to personal terms being agreed. Thomas Tuchel has already claimed that he will not stop his players from completing moves during the World Cup.

Anderson joined Forest in 2023 in a £35m deal from Newcastle, who were loathed to sell the midfielder who had come through their academy.

Since making the move he's continued to blossom and was always destined to land a mammoth profit for Forest. Anderson made his England debut in September and has started both of the World Cup games so far - playing alongside Declan Rice against Croatia and Ghana and is likely to retain that role against Panama on Saturday.

City are into their post-Pep Guardiola era with Enzo Maresca expected to become the new head coach at the Etihad. Anderson is seen as fitting into their system and will also help tick their homegrown quota.

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The Manchester side are also aware of the fact that Rodri, now 30, is continually linked with Real Madrid and could consider his future once his contract expires.

City have struggled to embed central midfielders into their team over recent years. Kalvin Phillips being an example of a highly-thought of English player who moved to Manchester but struggled for games given the dominance of Rodri.

However with the likes of Bernardo Silva moving on Anderson is set to play a huge role as City seek to ensure a smooth transition following Guardiola's exit.

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