Manchester City agree British record £130m deal for Elliot Anderson

Manchester City have agreed a deal with Nottingham Forest to sign Elliot Anderson in a move worth up to a British record £130m, with the 23-year-old England midfielder now cleared to travel for a medical while personal terms are finalised.

The fee would break the previous British benchmark of £125m, the sum Liverpool paid Newcastle United for Alexander Isak last summer. It would also make Anderson the most expensive British player in football history, underlining how quickly the market for elite domestic talent has escalated at the top end of the Premier League.

City made Anderson their primary midfield target this summer after earlier offers were rejected, and Manchester United and Arsenal were also reported to have interest. The breakthrough follows a prolonged pursuit of a player who has become one of Forest’s most valuable assets since arriving from Newcastle United in July 2024 for £35m.

That earlier Newcastle sale was itself shaped by the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Newcastle moved Anderson on to ease financial pressure, and Forest have since watched his value surge after a strong season in which he emerged as one of the central figures in their midfield.

The timing adds another layer to the deal. Anderson is currently in the United States with England for the 2026 World Cup and has started both of England’s first two group games, a stretch that has sharpened attention on his rise from a £35m signing to a player now valued at nearly four times that figure.

For City, the agreement is another example of the financial scale required to secure proven young English talent in the domestic market. For the rest of the Premier League, it is a reminder that the competition for the best homegrown players now sits at a level where even a midfielder still early in his international career can command a nine-figure fee.