Man City's Anderson Deal Branded "Totally Over the Top" by Scout King

Manchester City have secured Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest after an intensive pursuit, finally overcoming the Championship club's considerable asking price to land the midfielder. Reports suggest the transfer fee sits around £116million, though some outlets have placed the figure closer to £130million—a substantial sum that has already drawn criticism from those in the game.

Bryan King, a former Premier League scout, has been particularly vocal about the deal's economics. Speaking to Football Insider, King suggested City have drastically overpaid for a player he considers decent but hardly irreplaceable.

"The figure amazes me, to be honest," King remarked. "He's a good player. I don't think he's a first-choice England player. And for £116million, that's what I'd expect. But if somebody's prepared to pay that kind of money, then I would imagine Nottingham Forest would have bitten anybody's hand off because totally over the top for me. For me, I'd have said £70million would have been a right figure for anybody to pay for him."

King's assessment of Anderson's England credentials, however, doesn't withstand scrutiny. The 23-year-old has started all three of England's matches at the 2026 World Cup so far, featuring for the full 90 minutes in one fixture and 74 and 84 minutes respectively in the others. In the build-up to the tournament, he started twice in three preparatory encounters, cementing his status as a key player for the Three Lions.

Even Paul Scholes has backed Anderson's importance to Gareth Southgate's setup. The former Manchester United midfielder suggested Anderson should retain his place ahead of Declan Rice, who missed the most recent match through injury.

"I think it has to be a straight shootout between Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, and I think I would just go with Anderson," Scholes said. "I think he will pass it forward a bit more. Think about Rice with Arsenal… look, he's a great player and a great leader, I get all that, and you'd rather him in your team than not most of the time."

While debate over transfer fees is par for the course in modern football, Anderson's established position as England's midfield lynchpin rather undermines the suggestion he occupies anything less than a first-choice role.