MONDAY AFTERNOON DONE DEAL: Man City finally completes their 3rd summer signing after beating Arsenal and Liverpool to the £70m signature, agreement reached last night, medical will take place today – Welcome to Manchester
Elliot Anderson has moved closer to completing his £116m transfer to Manchester City after completing a medical in Kansas. The 23-year-old returned to England’s base after making his third appearance at the World Cup in the 2-0 win over Panama and passed all the necessary checks to make him a City player.
However, the final touches of his blockbuster deal have been paused again for Anderson to resume his England duties ahead of their last-32 game with Congo DR on Wednesday. Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel has spoken during the tournament about the need to keep club business away from matchdays and the day immediately preceding them in order for players to be focused.
That likely takes an announcement for Anderson’s move into later in the week, and City will work with Forest as well as England to work out the best time to do that. Given the medical has been completed and personal terms agreed though, all that is missing is the official confirmation of the move.
Anderson has been City’s top target for months in a big summer for their midfield. Bernardo Silva’s boots needed filling and there is also uncertainty around a number of other midfielders in the squad as Rodri and Mateo Kovacic enter the final year of their contracts and others face uncertain futures.
City may sign another midfielder this summer – Sandro Tonali and Ayyoub Bouaddi are among the players they are interested in – but Anderson was always the top target and the Blues are delighted to have landed him despite interest from Manchester United. He is seen as a player who will be able to replace Silva’s minutes and also shows that they continue to be an attractive destination for top talent despite the exit of Pep Guardiola.
Enzo Maresca will succeed Guardiola and Anderson will be the first major signing of the new era. As well as further change to the midfield, City are also looking at signing a right-back and a winger this summer.