Anderson 'fully focused' on World Cup glory despite £116m Man City move looming

Elliot Anderson’s imminent £116m transfer from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City has done nothing to distract the England midfielder from his World Cup ambitions, according to team-mate Jarell Quansah.

Anderson, 23, heads into Saturday’s Group L finale against Panama having already started both of England’s matches at the tournament — a 4-2 victory over Croatia and a 0-0 draw with Ghana. City’s agreement to sign him from Forest, reportedly worth £116m, was confirmed during the tournament, with a medical said to be scheduled for when the squad reaches the Tri-State Area.

“I see a player that’s fully focused on what he wants, and I think at the moment what he wants is to win a World Cup,” Quansah told talkSPORT. “That ultimately is the goal. I’m sure he is fully focused on winning the World Cup for England, and you can’t drift too far away from that and he knows that. But he’s a proper focused young lad and he’ll go right to the top I think.”

Anderson has developed rapidly since being deployed in a deeper midfield role by England Under-21s head coach Lee Carsley, playing a starring part in last summer’s European Under-21 Championship triumph. Quansah, who was also part of that winning squad, praised his versatility.

“This season he’s played a deeper role, played in a sort of a six and sometimes an eight, but he’s got probably everything you want as a midfielder, to be honest,” Quansah said. “He’s got a lot of attributes that are really good for an England squad and exactly what the manager wants.”

Anderson made his senior England debut last September and has quickly established himself as a key figure under Thomas Tuchel. His rise is all the more striking given that Quansah recalls hearing about him playing on the wing during a loan spell at Bristol Rovers.

England are all but assured of a place in the round of 32 but must equal or better Ghana’s result against Croatia to top Group L. Tuchel faces selection headaches beyond Anderson’s transfer news: Declan Rice is being assessed after limping off against Croatia, while Reece James is a major doubt having reportedly missed training on Thursday with a hamstring injury. The absence of back-up right-back Tino Livramento could open the door for the versatile Quansah to fill in on that flank.