Romano Reveals What Could “Make The Difference” As Man Utd Try To Beat City To Major Summer Transfer

BACK David Tully Apr 20th 2026 Man Utd have to outbid Man City and secure Champions League football if they want to win the race for Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano. The Manchester rivals are vying for the England international’s signature, but speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said the Red Devils have some significant ground to make up if they are to snap up the player ahead of City: “Manchester City started their plan to sign the player already a long time ago, but until the deal is done, Man Utd want to be there. Man Utd want to try, and they believe that having the opportunity eventually to offer Champions League football to the player, that could be important in order to try to get closer to Manchester City in this race.” “But what can make the difference is the negotiation with Nottingham Forest, is who’s going to pay what Nottingham Forest want.” How much will Anderson cost? Some reports have suggested that Forest want to break the British transfer record if they decide to offload the 23-year-old this summer. The current highest fee paid by a British club is the £125m that Liverpool shelled out on Alexander Isak last year. However, there is a feeling that Anderson will probably end up being sold for around £90m to £100m at the end of the season. Man Utd have alternatives lined up With City still regarded as favourites for Anderson, Director of Football Jason Wilcox will have put contingency plans in place in case they do miss out on their top midfield target. Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams, Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller and Wolves’ Joao Gomes are also all believed to be on the club’s radar. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.