Rooney's Bitter Pill: Why Man Utd Let Anderson Slip Away to City

Manchester United's hunt for midfield reinforcements this summer has hit a snag, with Wayne Rooney openly lamenting the club's failure to land Elliot Anderson ahead of Manchester City.

Anderson, currently representing England at the 2026 World Cup, will make the switch to the Etihad Stadium after City and Forest agreed a deal worth a fixed £116million. The fee, with no performance-related bonuses attached, makes the midfielder the costliest British player ever sold.

United had identified Anderson as their primary midfield target and were keen to bring him in under Michael Carrick's watch. However, the Red Devils ultimately pulled the plug on negotiations when Forest's demands proved too steep. Reports from mid-June suggested the Midlands club were initially holding out for £130million, a price tag that proved sufficient to deter INEOS's investment strategy.

While Ederson Silva's arrival from Atalanta will bolster United's engine room, the club's ownership remains determined to add at least one more midfielder before the window closes. That ambition, though, has now taken a hit.

Speaking on his podcast, Rooney didn't hide his disappointment. "He's a fantastic player," the former United and England legend said. "I'm gutted Manchester United didn't get him, but we've seen it when players go for big-money moves – like Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish to some extent – they [sometimes] don't fit in."

His warning to City proved prescient in tone: there's simply no guarantee that Anderson will flourish under Enzo Maresca, who recently took over following Pep Guardiola's departure.

Former Liverpool striker Emile Heskey offered a more philosophical take on the transfer market's obsession with price tags. "You have to look past the price tag," he observed. "The beating stick is always going to be the price tag."

Newcastle United, who sold Anderson to Forest in 2024 for Financial Fair Play reasons, will see nothing from this lucrative onward sale – a detail that has left former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan baffled. The Magpies failed to negotiate a sell-on clause as part of the original deal, meaning they'll pocket zero despite having developed the player.

"I cannot believe Newcastle do not have a sell-on," Jordan remarked on talkSPORT. "It defies conventional wisdom. If they don't have a sell-on, there's something paradoxically wrong with every aspect of it. It's incomprehensible: a young player goes out of a football club, who you didn't want to leave, and you would have no commercial nous to put at least a 10 per cent, 15 per cent sell-on."

For United, the consolation remains slim. City's new manager has his man, Anderson gets his record move, and the Red Devils must look elsewhere to complete their summer shopping.