Manchester City have announced the £116million signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest, a club-record fee that surpasses the £100million they paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish. The deal is also the highest amount Forest have received for a player, more than double their previous record of £55million from Anthony Elanga's move to Newcastle United last summer.
Record-Breaking Transfer Fee
The transfer is the fourth most expensive in football history, behind Liverpool's £125million deal for Alexander Isak (the British record), Paris Saint-Germain's signings of Kylian Mbappe (£166million) and Neymar (£200million) in 2017. It also exceeds Atletico Madrid's payment for Joao Felix in 2016.
Anderson, 23, cost Forest just a third of the price they are now receiving when they acquired him from Newcastle two years ago. He made 92 appearances across all competitions over two seasons at the City Ground, almost double the number he made after breaking through for the Magpies.
Rise at Nottingham Forest
Forest finished seventh during Anderson's debut season, qualifying for the Europa League league phase and reaching the FA Cup semi-finals before losing to Manchester City. The Reds also reached the Europa League semi-finals last term, losing to eventual winners Aston Villa over two legs.
Anderson became an England under-21 international soon after arriving in the East Midlands, having previously represented Scotland once at that level, the country of his paternal grandmother. He was key to Lee Carsley's European Under-21 Championship-winning team last summer and was named to the tournament team.
International Career
He received his first senior cap months later during World Cup qualifying and has quickly become an established starter under Thomas Tuchel. Anderson has missed just one match, the 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay, since making his debut, starting all of England's matches in North America this summer.
The transfer was confirmed midway through Anderson's participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with England.
