Man City will be forced to make Elliot Anderson third-most expensive footballer ever

Nottingham Forest will demand a package of £130million from Manchester City for Elliot Anderson, making him the third most-expensive footballer ever, per the Daily Mail.

Anderson's impressive displays for Forest over the last season have piqued the interest of a few clubs. Manchester clubs United and City are the two main sides after the midfielder.

But with United progressing on the signing of Atalanta's Ederson, and City going hard for Anderson, it seems they have the best chance of landing him.

So far, they have had no luck, having had a £106million offer turned down, and that's because it's believed Forest want a package of £130million if they are to let Anderson go.

That would be an initial £110million, plus up to £20million in bonuses. Should City sign Anderson for that entire fee, the Forest midfielder could become the third-most expensive footballer ever, behind only Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

That sum would also, therefore, make Anderson the British transfer record holder.

Whether City will stretch to Forest's demands remains to be seen, but they have paid £100million for a player before, when they signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021.

City have more targets

Midfield moves are clearly high on the agenda for City, and while Anderson is a priority given it's felt he would flourish in the style incoming boss Enzo Maresca wants, there are other targets on their shortlist.

The report states Newcastle's Sandro Tonali is admired by City, where the future of Nico Gonzalez is unclear after he started only 17 Premier League games last season.

There's been a lot of speculation about a City move for Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez, particularly as he flourished under Maresca at Stamford Bridge.

However, it's reported the Manchester outfit have distanced themselves from that move. Indeed, it's Real Madrid who seem to be pushing hardest for the signature of the Argentine midfielder currently.

Reports of late have suggested there may be an agreement in place for that move, which Fernandez is ready to agree to himself, with the promise of a five-year deal.

As such, even if City are to sign two midfielders this summer, it seems unlikely that the Chelsea man will be one of them.