Manchester United may have backed off Elliot Anderson, but Harry Maguire is still raving about the Nottingham Forest and England star.
Every year, before the summer transfer window opens, Manchester United plan their primary targets along with what they hope are adequate alternatives as back-up options.
As we’ve seen over the years with examples such as Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, United don’t always get their preferred targets and settle for other players in the market.
There are multiple factors at play, including transfer fees, salary, medical examinations, bonuses and more.
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Elliot Anderson impressed Harry Maguire in training
United are working on revamping the midfield this summer after reaching an agreement with Atalanta for Ederson, after the Brazilian midfielder established himself in Serie A.
One of United’s main targets this summer was Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, but the England midfielder looks like he will be signing for Man City.
United want to avoid a bidding war for Anderson, and City have already submitted a bid worth £121 million for the 23-year-old.
Despite this, United defender Harry Maguire was asked if he would like to make a case for United to sign Anderson on the recent episode of The Rest Is Football on Netflix.
“I’ve heard there’s many clubs abroad after him as well, but I must say, I was not in the England squad for 12 months, and I was interested to go in in March and just see there was 10, 15 new players who I hadn’t played with,” Maguire said.
“And I knew he was a good player, and in training, he impressed me even more than what I knew.
“He’s got absolutely everything. He reminds me of Declan Rice in some aspects in terms of his profile.
“He’s good on the ball, he can drive with the ball. He’s got an eye for goal as well, to say he’s playing number six at the minute, but he’s one of those I think he could play 10, 8, 6. He’s that good.”
The comparison to Declan Rice is an interesting one because the Arsenal star is a player United missed out on.
It is well documented that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted to sign Rice before he left West Ham.
- ⚡️ NEWS IN BRIEF
- Harry Maguire was really impressed by Elliot Anderson in England training
- The pair trained together with the England national team in March
- Maguire compared Anderson to Declan Rice
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Manchester United remain interested in both Premier League stars
Elliot Anderson transfer could inflate transfer market
City’s second offer of £120m was rejected by Forest last week.
Anything above that could seriously inflate the Premier League’s midfield market – if it isn’t bad enough already.
It remains to be seen if City are willing to walk away if the deal becomes too expensive.
The latest rejection suggests Forest wants closer to £140m for Anderson. That would surpass the current British record, which was set last summer when Alexander Isak left Newcastle for Liverpool.
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