Nottingham Forest have rejected Manchester City's second bid for Elliot Anderson, turning down a package worth £122 million for the England midfielder and pushing one of the Premier League's biggest summer transfer pursuits closer to British-record territory.
Forest Hold Out For A British-Record Fee
City's offer was worth £106 million guaranteed, plus another £16 million in add-ons. That would already have moved beyond Manchester City's club-record £100 million deal for Jack Grealish, but Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is understood to want a basic fee of £125 million before add-ons.
That number matters because it matches the British-record fee Liverpool paid Newcastle for Alexander Isak last summer. Forest are not treating Anderson as a player they need to move. They are treating him as a midfielder who now sits in the price range where everyone in the room starts pretending the numbers are normal.
Manchester City May Return With One More Offer
City's director of football, Hugo Viana, made the latest bid with timing in mind. Anderson is expected to be part of England's World Cup plans, and City appear keen to resolve the deal before tournament duties make the transfer story harder to manage.
The rejected bid followed an earlier City offer worth £80 million. A third proposal could come before the end of the week, but Forest's stance has been firm: if Anderson leaves the City Ground, it will not be because Manchester City found a discount aisle.
United Interest Adds Pressure But Not Certainty
Manchester United have also shown interest in Anderson, though the price may now test whether that interest turns into a serious rival bid. City remain the active club in the race, but Forest benefit from every sign that more than one Manchester club is watching.
For Anderson, the scale of the fee brings its own pressure. A £122 million bid is no longer just a transfer update; it becomes a public valuation, a burden and a little weather system around the player. Forest have said no for now. City have to decide whether the extra few million are a hard limit or merely the next line in a very expensive conversation.