Man City unable to convince Nottingham Forest with £120m Elliot Anderson bid

  • Man City place second Elliot Anderson bid
  • Deal worth £120m including add-ons
  • Nottingham Forest still demanding more

Manchester City have tabled a substantial second offer for Elliot Anderson, but Nottingham Forest are continuing to stand their ground.

Last week, Nottingham Forest rejected Man City’s bid for Elliot Anderson, but a second offer has been launched by the domestic double winners.

According to Fabrizio Romano and various other sources, City have offered Forest £106m for the England international.

However, it will reach the value of £120m including add-ons, smashing the British transfer record which was set by Arsenal when they signed Declan Rice.

Nottingham Forest want more for Elliot Anderson

Quite astonishingly, Forest are still demanding a higher payment from Man City for Anderson, which means a third offer will be required.

The East Midlands club know Man United are interested too, and are therefore demanding £120m as a base sum before add-ons.

Man City are pushing to get the deal done, with the transfer window still not officially open until next Monday.

Man City look too desperate

Coming in for Anderson so early was a smart decision to beat the competition, but Forest are looking to take advantage.

But this is a club who should have no leverage, considering they were almost relegated from the Premier League.

Man City look a bit too keen at this point, and perhaps it is worth taking a step back and reconsidering their options.

Anderson is a fine player, but paying a total fee of £120m is already upwards of what he is actually worth.

Therefore, the Citizens need to show Forest that they are not desperate, and that they would be willing to pull out of a deal if necessary.

Sandro Tonali remains an option

Should City fail to sign Anderson, there is still the option of attempting to sign Sandro Tonali from Newcastle.

He would still cost at least £100m, but the Magpies are unlikely to demand what Forest want for their own midfielder.

Perhaps Man City should turn their attention to the Italian, even if it is just a technique to encourage Forest to lower their demands.

By toning down their interest in Anderson, it could force Forest to rethink whether they are searching for something which is simply unrealistic.

Despite this, it does look as though City are going to make another offer, with the club keen to get a deal done as soon as possible.

The only real explanation for this is that incoming manager Enzo Maresca really wants Anderson, and the club feel obliged to back him.

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