Manchester City have agreed a deal to sign England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for a fee of £116 million, a sum that shatters the British transfer record and signals the club’s intent under new manager Enzo Maresca. The announcement, made while Anderson is on international duty at the World Cup, confirmed that the 23-year-old completed his medical in Kansas City and will finalise the move upon his return from the tournament. British outlets note the fee eclipses the £115 million Real Madrid paid for Jude Bellingham in 2023 and the £100 million City themselves spent on Jack Grealish, though it falls short of the overall Premier League record held by Liverpool’s £125 million acquisition of Alexander Isak.

Anderson’s rise has been rapid. After emerging from Newcastle United’s academy, he moved to Forest in 2023 and last season made 50 appearances across all competitions, contributing four goals and five assists. His performances earned him a regular starting role in Thomas Tuchel’s England side at the World Cup, where he has featured in all four matches. Tuchel described the midfielder as “the full package” and a “key player,” a view echoed by analysts in London who point to his league-leading statistics for touches, duels won, and line-breaking passes during the 2025-26 Premier League campaign.

The transfer is the first major move of the post-Pep Guardiola era at the Etihad. Maresca, who succeeded Guardiola after the Catalan’s departure at the end of last season, identified Anderson as a priority target to rebuild a midfield that will lose Bernardo Silva this summer. Reports from Argentina and Indonesia emphasise the €135 million equivalent fee, while Israeli media detail a five-year contract with an option for a further year and weekly wages that could reach £300,000. For Forest, the sale represents a substantial profit on a player signed for £35 million two years ago, and the club is already linked with Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall as a potential replacement.

Anderson’s immediate focus remains on England’s last-16 clash with Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday. The match carries its own financial weight: resale tickets for the fixture have been listed at up to $36,000, and only around 8,000 England fans are expected inside the 80,000-capacity venue. Once England’s campaign concludes, Anderson will travel to Manchester to complete the formalities of a transfer that resets the market for British talent and places him at the centre of City’s new project.