Manchester City have confirmed they have reached an agreement to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson in a deal that is expected to break the record for a British player.
Anderson is currently away with the England squad at the World Cup, where he has undergone a medical and remains focused on his international journey.
“The formalities of the move will be finalized upon his return to England,” City confirmed in a statement.
“In the meantime, everyone at Manchester City wishes Elliot and the England squad the very best of luck in their World Cup campaign and we look forward to welcoming him to Manchester in due course. “
City are understood to have agreed to pay Forest a fee of $153.9 million (£116 million) in order to fend off competition from a number of domestic rivals, including Manchester United.
How Anderson’s Transfer Compares to Biggest British Signings
The deal to take Anderson to the Etihad is not believed to include any add-ons, meaning it is worth more than Florian Wirtz’s switch to Liverpool which needed bonuses to reach the £116 million mark.
While Anderson’s switch to City narrowly falls short of the Premier League transfer record—behind only Alexander Isak’s £125 million move to Liverpool last summer—the midfielder has become the most expensive British player in history.
The deal is worth £1 million more than Real Madrid’s acquisition of Jude Bellingham, worth an initial £88.5 million but with add-ons that could rise as far as £115 million.
Depending on your interpretation of the British transfer record, Arsenal’s Declan Rice may have been hailed as the previous record holder. The Gunners paid a total of £105 million for the man who has partnered Anderson in England’s midfield at the World Cup—£100 million plus a further £5 million in bonuses.
The specifics of Harry Kane’s switch to Bayern Munich in 2023 have been debated at length. Club officials have highlighted an initial fee of £82 million but the total package is thought to be worth as much as £104 million, which moves the striker above Jack Grealish and his £100 million move to City in 2021. Grealish and Anderson stand to be teammates next season unless the former seals a move away in the final year of his contract.
Those deals have all come in the final five years, but it took a whopping eight years for the British record to be broken following Gareth Bale’s £85.3 million move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2013.
| Player | Club | Year | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elliot Anderson | Man City | 2026 | £116 million |
| Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 2023 | £115 million* |
| Declan Rice | Arsenal | 2023 | £105 million* |
| Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 2023 | £104 million* |
| Jack Grealish | Man City | 2021 | £100 million |
| Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | 2013 | £85.3 million |
*includes add-ons
