Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. The agreed fee is £116 million, a new British transfer record and a new club record for City.
Sky Sports confirmed the deal, reporting that Forest have given Anderson permission to undergo a medical, although the timing remains undecided.
The deal would break City’s previous club record of £100m they paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021. Anderson, 23, is contracted to Forest until 2029.
The City had received two offers before reaching an agreement. Relations between the clubs are believed to be excellent, which helped push the deal towards completion.
Anderson is currently in the USA with England at the 2026 World Cup. He has started both of their group games so far, against Croatia and Ghana, and faces Panama.
In the 2025-26 Premier League season, he finished as the league leader in touches, duels won and possessions won which underlines why City moved so decisively to sign him.
Anderson is seen within the Etihad as the ideal long-term partner for Rodri, whose future remains uncertain with just one year left on his contract. He also fills the void left by the departure of Bernardo Silva to Real Madrid this summer.
Manchester United also had an interest in Anderson, but eventually backed out, rebuffed by Forest’s asking price. City continued and have now won the race for his signature.
They are interested in Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall and Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi, who the Italian club value at around £26m. Both fit the energetic and progressive Forest Favor profile.
Forest also have a long-standing interest in Celtic’s Arne Engels, who they tried to sign in January. Engels remains a genuine target if other deals don’t work out.
For Forest, the financial collection is historic. They signed Anderson from Newcastle for around £35m two years ago and can now make a profit of up to £80m a remarkable return on their investment.
