Man United urged to set Anderson deadline as Man City bid complicates midfield pursuit

Manchester United are being urged to impose a transfer deadline on their pursuit of Elliot Anderson after Manchester City emerged as the frontrunners to sign the Nottingham Forest midfielder, having already had an opening bid turned down.

Anderson, 23, is United’s primary midfield target this summer and is viewed internally as the ideal long-term replacement for Casemiro — an elite-level No. 6 around whom the club’s midfield rebuild would be structured. The England international is also expected to start alongside Declan Rice at the 2026 World Cup, which only adds to his appeal.

The obstacle is twofold. City are believed to be Anderson’s preferred destination, and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is demanding a fee that could surpass the £105 million Arsenal paid for Rice in 2023 — a figure that would represent a significant outlay for either club. Having secured their Premier League status, Forest are under no pressure to sell cheaply.

United have already signed Ederson from Atalanta for £35 million and are planning to add at least one further midfielder, possibly two if Manuel Ugarte can be moved on. That ambition is creating a financial balancing act: pushing hard for alternative targets while keeping enough flexibility in the budget should an Anderson deal become viable.

One such alternative is a 21-year-old midfielder understood to be valued at around £85 million by West Ham — a figure United consider unrealistic at present. Progress on that front is contingent on West Ham lowering their asking price.

Chief executive Omar Berrada acknowledged the complexity of navigating a transfer window in an end-of-season address. “You always go into a window, you don’t know how you’re going to come out of it, but you have to be really prepared. You have to have a clear plan,” he said. “You have to be agile and flexible, but we have a clear plan. Jason Wilcox and his team are very well set up to execute that plan.”

With England set to open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on 18 June, all parties are thought to want clarity on Anderson’s future before that date. A self-imposed deadline of around 17 June is considered plausible — if no meaningful progress has been made by then, United may be forced to redirect their midfield budget elsewhere rather than leave their summer planning in limbo.