Manchester City have agreed a £116 million ($153 million) deal to sign Elliott Anderson from Nottingham Forest.
The fee – a flat sum with no add-ons – will be the highest amount ever paid to a British player and represents a new record for City, eclipsing the £100 million they paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.
The England international is set to sign a five-year contract with City that will be worth around £300,000 a week if all bonuses are realised. The deal will include an option to extend his stay for a further 12 months.
Anderson, 23, was cleared to undergo medical examination in New York on Friday. The player is currently playing for England, which will play at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey on Saturday for the USA, Canada and Mexico World Cup.
Forest had previously hoped that the fixed fee for any sale would exceed the British record £125 million ($165 million) that Liverpool paid Newcastle United for Alexander Isak last summer.
This happens after Athletic On June 10, it was revealed that City had made a verbal offer for the midfielder worth £106 million ($140 million) in advance, an approach that followed an opening bid being rejected earlier in the month.
Why Manchester City want Elliot Anderson (and how Tuchel will use him)
JJ Bull
Anderson joined Forest from Newcastle in a £35 million deal in 2023, leaving Odysseas Vlachodimos to go the other way and value the England international at £15 million ($19.7 million).
Anderson has since made 92 appearances for Forest, including appearing in every league game in the 2025/26 season, scoring four goals and providing four assists.
Anderson, who made his England debut in September, started both World Cup matches against Croatia and Ghana and is likely to do so again against Panama on Saturday.
Athletic Earlier this week it was reported that Forest had named 20-year-old Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Lukas Bergvall as a potential replacement for Anderson.
“The greatest transfer deal in Forest history”
Analysis by senior writer Daniel Taylor
Simply put, this is the greatest transfer business in Nottingham Forest history.
This is the club that bought young Roy Keane from Irish club Cobh Ramblers for £47,000 and then sold him to Manchester United for a UK record £3.75 million.
However, just look at the background to Anderson’s £116m move to Manchester City.
Here is a player who was first spotted by Forest when he was on loan from Newcastle, aged 19, at Bristol Rovers, then in League Two.
He was valued at just £15 million when Forest somehow came up with a transfer package with Newcastle United that saw the club’s third-choice goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos move to St James’ Park for a value of around £20 million (an incredible deal in itself).
And now, two seasons later, Anderson has earned more than £100 million.
He will offer his best wishes to everyone at the City Ground after performing superbly in Forest colours, while establishing himself as an England regular.
Meanwhile, the earnings should help Forest in their pursuit of Bergvall from Spurs as they have targeted him as the player they want to take Anderson’s place in midfield. Other signings will inevitably follow.
Replacing a player with Anderson’s gifts will certainly be difficult. However, if Forest manages their money wisely, the team could emerge stronger from it. In fact, the whole club could be there.
Why is Anderson so in demand?
Analysis by data and tactics author Ananthajith Raghuraman.
Anderson is emblematic of the modern Premier League midfielder.
He can progress in the game in different ways. His 2.8 rebounds per 90 minutes rank second among Premier League central and defensive midfielders (minimum 1,000 minutes) behind Tijani Reynders. Only three have made more passes into the opposition half than his 8.3 per 90.
Anderson has received 14 per cent of Forest’s total Premier League touches in 2025/26, more than any other player. The volume didn’t overwhelm him. He was resilient under pressure, often made the right passes and was a threat in the final third, scoring four goals and providing four assists.
Off the ball, Anderson displays tenacity and athleticism. He can move forward and meet man-marking demands, but can also drop back quickly to protect his defence. He blocked 1.4 opposition passes per 90 minutes, knowing when to attack to cut off moves.
Why did City want him so badly?
Manchester analysis City Correspondent Sam Lee
City are generally always on the lookout for the best English talent for obvious reasons, including local rules and the fact that they usually prove their worth in the Premier League.
Anderson obviously fits the bill and is seen as Bernard Silva’s replacement. The fact that he had more touches than anyone else in the Premier League last season for a Forest team that wasn’t particularly possession-heavy shows how involved and influential he likes to be. He also showed with his fine goal against City in the 2-2 draw in March that he has the necessary class.
City have had some problems in recent years when they have tried to recruit players no better than their established stars, such as the acquisitions of Calvin Phillips and Nico Gonzalez, who to varying degrees were not the relatively cheap alternative that City had hoped for.
But following Bernardo’s departure, City have their sights set on a talented player who can break into the team straight away, and Anderson fits the bill.