Forest's £130m Anderson demand rattles Premier League rivals ahead of City deal

Nottingham Forest are demanding a package worth more than £130million for England midfielder Elliot Anderson, having already turned down two offers from Manchester City — the latest of which was reported to be in the region of £120million. The asking price would surpass the current British record set last summer when Alexander Isak joined Liverpool for £125million.

The scale of Forest’s valuation has sent ripples through the Premier League. Clubs fear that a deal at that level would inflate the market across the board, with Manchester United already having cooled their interest because of the numbers involved. City, for their part, are understood to be willing to walk away if the fee climbs beyond what they consider reasonable.

Anderson, 23, is currently in the United States with the England squad preparing for their World Cup opener against Croatia. The midfielder holds just eight international caps and has yet to feature in the Champions League, details that have sharpened debate over whether the valuation is justified. He is nonetheless keen on a move to the Etihad.

One deal that could be directly affected is Arsenal’s pursuit of Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers. Insiders believe Villa will raise their asking price for the 23-year-old in line with whatever Forest eventually secure for Anderson. Rogers presents a stronger case on paper — he has scored a Champions League hat-trick, won the Europa League with Villa last season, and has 13 England caps to his name. Manchester United and Chelsea are also monitoring Rogers, though Villa are reluctant to sell unless forced into a big-money exit to avoid a further breach of UEFA’s financial rules.

Forest’s other standout, Morgan Gibbs-White, is also attracting interest this summer, adding to the sense that the club could be a significant seller in the coming weeks.

Elsewhere, Chelsea are looking to move on Enzo Fernandez, placing a £120million price tag on the Argentine amid reported interest from Real Madrid. Chelsea paid a then-British record £106.8million for Fernandez in January 2023. Since then, the market has moved sharply upward: Arsenal spent £105million on Declan Rice, Liverpool paid £115million for Florian Wirtz, and then a further £125million on Isak. Premier League clubs combined spent £3.087billion in last summer’s transfer window, eclipsing the previous record of £2.36billion set in 2023.