Manchester City have ‘won’ the race to sign England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest — and I think Ineos made the right call for Manchester United by not signing him in the end.
Manchester United’s crosstown rivals are now on the verge of completing an eye-watering club-record £116m move for Red Devils-linked Elliot Anderson this summer.
I’m not pretending to be some ‘football hipster’ by playing down Anderson’s impressive impact at Nottingham Forest since his 2024 move from Newcastle.
Anderson’s soon-to-be move to Manchester City has only reaffirmed my belief that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have repeated an important transfer position for United.
What do you think of Man City spending £130 million on Elliot Anderson?
Will Anderson be a flop? Or will United regret not paying up?
The finances behind Elliot Anderson’s transfer to Man City remind me of Man Utd walking away from the 2025 Carlos Baleba saga
I know Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe loves every opportunity to remind Red Devils supporters about the Premier League club’s financial struggles.
When I saw BBC Sport report about Manchester City agreeing a deal for Elliot Anderson on Thursday, I breathed a sigh of relief that the transfer ‘saga’ is over.
I always expected Anderson to choose City over Man Utd, but I know my fellow Red Devils supporters are happy to pay more than what is needed for a player.
Having been stung on mammoth transfer fees in the past for the likes of Paul Pogba, I could feel my worry intensify last summer with United’s interest in Carlos Baleba.
The transfer noise around Carlos Baleba coming to United was strong in 2025, all the way to the point where a £115m fee was cited for the 22-year-old midfielder.
Thankfully, Ratcliffe’s Ineos regime saw the logic of ending their pursuit of the Brighton talent last August and not being haunted by paying an excess transfer fee.
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Carlos Baleba’s season at Brighton showed why Man Utd rightfully took the same decision again with Elliot Anderson
Am I saying that Anderson will have a similar season at Manchester City as what Carlos Baleba had at Brighton during the 2025-26 Premier League campaign?
No, I am not. However, there is zero room for Anderson to have time to settle in at Man City without every single thing that he does getting scrutinised on the pitch.
I think Man Utd’s midfield structure is more deeply complicated than what a ‘silver bullet’ like Anderson could offer in fixing a long-term project at the club.
What happens if Anderson is injured in his first five matches at United after they’ve dropped a mammoth £100m-plus transfer fee on the 23-year-old midfielder?
There is nothing certain around Anderson, including whether he is a major success at Man City, if he maintains an injury-free season or is sidelined after five matches.
However, what can be said is that the Ineos regime at Man Utd now is not the one of old and is not willing to break the bank to sign one player alone for the squad.
Only time will tell if Anderson pays off for Man City in a major way or if the Forest midfielder experiences a similar fate to what Jack Grealish experienced at the Etihad.
I think United fans should not be hung up on not signing Anderson in the same way as the Red Devils walked away from a big-money move for Baleba last summer.
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