Anderson is set to become the most expensive British player in football history, with Manchester City agreeing a £116m fee with Nottingham Forest for the midfielder.
The deal eclipses the £105m Arsenal paid for Declan Rice three years ago, with the transfer to be formally completed once Anderson’s involvement at the World Cup concludes.
City confirmed on Thursday they had reached an agreement with Forest, marking a seismic moment in the club’s transition away from the Pep Guardiola era.
Anderson will also surpass the £100m City paid for Jack Grealish, making him the most expensive signing in the club’s history by a considerable margin.
At just 23, the midfielder arrives having quietly established himself as one of the Premier League’s most complete central midfielders during a remarkable campaign for Forest.
No player in the Premier League recorded more touches than Anderson’s 3,300 during the 2025-26 season, a figure that underlines just how central he was to everything Forest did.
He also led the division for duels won with 298, possessions won with 306, and fouls won with 80, highlighting his constant involvement at both ends of the pitch.
Among Premier League central midfielders, Anderson completed more passes than anyone else at 2,038, while his 376 line-breaking passes also led the position across the entire season.
Rather than simply recycling possession, Anderson consistently looked to eliminate opponents by playing through defensive lines and advancing Forest up the pitch in transition.
Anderson covered 411km across the Premier League season, second only to Everton’s James Garner, while his 1,895 high-intensity pressures ranked second among midfielders in the division.
He started 37 league matches, only missing one when Forest rotated heavily ahead of their Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa at the start of May.
Anderson finished the season with four goals, four assists, and 54 chances created, while his nine big chances created and 4.8 expected assists made him Forest’s most creative player throughout the campaign.
Those numbers carry even greater weight when considering Forest went through four managers and spent much of the season playing transitional football rather than controlling games with possession.
Forest will feel Anderson’s departure keenly, with the club understood to be exploring the market for potentially two replacements, including a deep-lying midfielder and a number eight.
Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi remains a target but faces interest from Juventus and Roma, while Tottenham’s Lucas Bergvall is also high on Forest’s list after limited minutes at Spurs.
On a personal level, Anderson’s relationship with Forest supporters grew even deeper following the passing of his mother Helen in April, with the tributes paid illustrating how valued he was at the City Ground.
He made 94 appearances for Forest in all competitions after joining from Newcastle in 2024, and impressed staff with his commitment and desire to constantly improve himself and the team.
Anderson now joins as the first major signing of the post-Guardiola era, with Enzo Maresca having been officially confirmed as manager after leaving Chelsea on New Year’s Day.
Maresca’s appointment carries enormous weight given Guardiola’s ten-year legacy of six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five Carabao Cups and a Champions League at the Etihad.
Under Maresca at Chelsea, the midfield was built around aggressive ball recovery, with Moises Caicedo winning possession 315 times and 318 duels, while Enzo Fernandez led the press with 1,619 high-intensity pressures.
Both Fernandez and Caicedo were high contributors in line-breaking passes, with Fernandez recording 313 and Caicedo 382, an area where Anderson also excelled throughout last season.
Anderson is expected to partner Rodri in the middle of the park, though City are also understood to be interested in signing Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi as Rodri reportedly faces surgery after the World Cup.
Anderson is set to replace departed captain Bernardo Silva and, if he can reproduce his Forest levels inside a team built to dominate possession every week, the record fee may quickly begin to look justified.
