City's Anderson Pursuit Leaves United Scrambling for Overpriced Alternatives

Nottingham Forest are holding firm on a British-record asking price for Elliot Anderson, and Manchester United are about to pay the price for their rivals' determination to land the England midfielder.

Both clubs identified Anderson as a priority target following his impressive performances for Forest and country this season. The 23-year-old is poised to partner Declan Rice in the middle of the park for England at the World Cup under Thomas Tuchel's management.

City have now tabled a second verbal offer worth £106million, with add-ons potentially pushing the total beyond £120m. Yet Forest are unmoved—they're demanding a fixed fee that surpasses the £125m Liverpool paid Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer, setting a new top-flight record.

The valuation represents a staggering leap from Anderson's £35m arrival from Newcastle in summer 2023, when the deal also saw Odysseas Vlachodimos move in the opposite direction. That £15m valuation now looks quaint, a relic from before the market went haywire.

The inflation is hardly surprising. Recent years have seen midfielders shift for astronomical sums: Enzo Fernandez, Declan Rice, and Moises Caicedo have all commanded nine-figure fees. Forest have weaponised these precedents to justify their asking price, and other selling clubs are watching intently. A City capitulation would hand them a roadmap for extracting maximum value.

Anderson favours a move to the Etihad, but United have concluded the deal is simply too expensive. They're bowing out of the race for their "dream target" and pivoting instead.

Three names now occupy their attention. West Ham have fixed Matheus Fernandes' price at £85m. Bournemouth are demanding between £80m and £100m for Alex Scott, a player Liverpool also covet. Brighton continue their usual tough-guy routine with Carlos Baleba, though whispers suggest they might accept £75m after demanding £100m last summer—though their £70m asking price for Jan Paul van de Hecke to Tottenham, despite him having just twelve months remaining on his contract, hardly suggests they're in a mood to negotiate.

Transfermarkt's valuations—£43m for Fernandes and Scott, £47m for Baleba—merely underline how divorced the market has become from reality.

City have form in these situations. They've entered transfer races for Rice and Caicedo with little genuine interest, simply to inflate the asking price for rivals. This time, though, their pursuit of Anderson is genuine. They want him. But the consequence remains the same: the transfer market has lurched further skyward, and United must now overpay for whoever they settle on.

That's the tax on finishing second in the Elliot Anderson sweepstakes.