Man City close to record deal for Elliot Anderson after £121m bid rejected

Manchester City are pushing to sign Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson after seeing a £121m bid rejected, talkSPORT understands. The offer consisted of £106m plus £15m in add-ons, made before the World Cup amid fears his value could rise. A further bid is expected in the coming weeks, with the parties not far apart in valuation.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is personally handling negotiations, keeping even manager Vitor Pereira in the dark. Forest ideally want a British transfer record fee above the £125m paid for Alexander Isak last summer. Anderson has informed both clubs he wants to move to the Etihad.

The 23-year-old is set to start for England in their World Cup opener against Croatia on June 17. His potential move is linked to doubts over Rodri's future at City, with Real Madrid interested. Anderson has scored four goals and provided four assists in 38 games for Forest this season.

Manchester United also view Anderson as a dream target but are focused on West Ham's Mateus Fernandes, avoiding a bidding war without player buy-in. City, meanwhile, have already lost Bernardo Silva to Real Madrid on a free transfer.