Fabrizio Romano: After Elliot Anderson, United give up on yet another dream target, City ready to hijack again

Manchester United have already admitted defeat in their pursuit of dream midfield target, Elliot Anderson. The Nottingham Forest star was identified as the ideal successor to Casemiro, but INEOS are in no position to pay as much as Manchester City. Even though Forest have rejected both of City bids, the feeling is that the Englishman prefers a switch to the Etihad and the Red Devils do not want to get into a bidding war. This is why they moved on to Sandro Tonali. However, Newcastle’s valuation, the Italian’s wage demands, and his preference to return to his homeland have proved to be major obstacles. City eyeing Sandro Tonali Interestingly, Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that City, should they miss out on Anderson, could move for the Magpies ace. “I want to discuss the Man City situation, because on one side there is still the situation of Elliot Anderson,” Romano said on his YouTube channel. “Manchester City yesterday offered £121m add-ons included, for Elliot Anderson – £106m plus £15m as add-ons. The bid has been rejected by Nottingham Forest. “Now let’s see what Manchester City decide to do because it was already a big proposal. Don’t forget what I told you last week, another player really appreciated, really, really appreciated by Manchester City is also Sandro Tonali.” United cool their interest in Sandro Tonali The journalist had earlier claimed that owing to the former AC Milan star’s demands, the 20-time English league champions have cooled their interest. “In the case of Tonali, the appreciation remains, but at this stage the deal is not considered advanced or particularly concrete. The overall cost of the operation, including both salary and transfer fee, is currently viewed as too high. “As things stand today, Man Utd are relatively cold on the possibility of signing Tonali.” INEOS could rue both decisions INEOS are set to let go of two midfield targets. Whether this decision comes back to haunt them, only time will tell. Currently, United seem to be fully focussed on landing Mateus Fernandes from West Ham to add to their capture of Brazilian midfield ace Ederson. Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25