Man Utd will miss out on Elliot Anderson again as Real Madrid come calling
As Manchester City stare relegation and an ensuing max exodus of their players in the face, Premier League rivals will look to dive into what looks set to be a relative bargain bin to pluck world class players from their scheming, cheating mitts.
The appeal looks set only to delay the inevitable. The only real uncertainties are when Manchester City will be punished and what that punishment will be.
If not expulsion, then a huge points deduction to ensure relegation feels likely, at which point a majority of City players will leave, if not because they want to then thanks to a wage bill that the revenue from playing int the Championship or below simply can’t sustain.
Rumours of Erling Haaland’s future are rife, of course, as is speculation over what might be next for Elliot Anderson; Manchester United are being proposed as a natural fit.
Any report detailing a possible move for Anderson makes reference to him ‘only joining City this summer’, but it is precisely because he only arrived in June that he should be among the most angry players in the squad and thus most eager to leave.
READ: Did Man City mislead summer signings? Anderson, Fernandez and co deserve answers
Reports suggest City already knew of their guilt before splashing the cash; likely spent £450m because they knew of incoming sanctions which would hamper such spending in future. Would Anderson have joined City in a post-114 breaches world? He would have to be an idiot.
“Could Manchester United get a second chance to sign Elliot Anderson?” asks Teddy Sheringham. He was their top target in the summer but after being priced out of the move they settled for a trio of Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos.
First impressions haven’t been positive with regard to either Tielemans or Santos and, according to former Man Utd scout Mick Brown, they remain “big fans” of Anderson and “will look at” signing him if/when he becomes available.
But Sheringham subsequently answered his own question.
“I love him,” he added. “I can’t believe anyone has question marks over him.
“He is a fantastic player, and he was brilliant again for England against Spain. He just has everything for me, but there will be 20 players up for grabs, and if Manchester United can grab any of them, it will enhance them, because United don’t have any top players anymore.”
Why would Anderson join a club with no “top players” other than Bruno Fernandes?
It’s a move United would have been able to get over the line without competition in the summer. Anderson wasn’t about to turn them down and stay at Nottingham Forest.
But now that doubts over his ability to cope with Big Club pressure have been put to bed after a month dominating at the base of the City midfield, Anderson has put himself in the very top transfer bracket, where Manchester United haven’t been shopping for a very long time.
He’s on Jose Mourinho’s radar at Real Madrid, which feels like the natural next step if not quite the only option available to him. Arsenal could look for an upgrade on Martín Zubimendi, for example.
But a move to Manchester United would be a surprise; a step down for a player who’s already shown quality far beyond the vast majority of the players he would be sharing a field with at Old Trafford.
