Eight United players Ratcliffe was ready to sell to land £116m Elliot Anderson

Manchester United were prepared to sell eight first-team players to finance a move for Elliot Anderson last summer, only for Manchester City to outmanoeuvre them and secure the midfielder for £116m. Anderson will now line up against United at Old Trafford in the Manchester Derby on Sunday.

The former Nottingham Forest star had emerged as one of the most coveted midfielders in English football following a standout Premier League campaign and a strong World Cup with England. With his price tag set above £100m, United under Sir Jim Ratcliffe were reportedly willing to go all-in — but City ultimately flexed their financial muscle to win the race.

According to a report from The Sun published in April, the eight players United were open to selling included Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Andre Onana, and Marcus Rashford, alongside three players whose contracts were running down. Of those five named, only Hojlund has since departed — joining Napoli permanently this summer after a loan spell, with the Italian club activating a £38m buy option on a player United had signed from Atalanta for £64m.

Onana was also loaned out, joining Trabzonspor for the 2025/26 season in a deal that included a £1.3m loan fee, but he has not been sold. Ugarte’s expected exit was derailed by a serious knee injury sustained while representing Uruguay at the World Cup. Zirkzee attracted interest from Juventus and Roma and was linked with Everton on deadline day, but no transfer materialised.

Rashford’s situation proved equally unresolved. Barcelona, where he spent last season on loan, declined to trigger his £26m purchase option, and no other club stepped in. He has since returned to Old Trafford, been handed the No. 9 shirt, and is back in manager Michael Carrick’s first-team plans.

United did strengthen in midfield this summer, bringing in Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans for a combined £85m, and later signing Carlos Baleba in a deal worth up to £70m. But the failure to land Anderson — who will now play against them — underlines the gap between United’s ambitions and their ability to execute in the transfer market under the current ownership.