Manchester United wanted Elliot Anderson in July. They got nowhere. The 23-year-old signed for Manchester City from Nottingham Forest for £116m, a club-record fee that City pursued over months, and his message at the unveiling left little room for interpretation.
“For as long as I’ve known Manchester, City have been the kings of Manchester,” Anderson told Sky Sports.
A FootballFanCast column published on Wednesday revisits that lost pursuit, framing Anderson as a target United should keep ready for a hypothetical scenario rather than an active one. The piece contains no new reporting of a United approach, and the £116m figure attached to the story is what City have already paid, not what Michael Carrick is being asked to spend.
Guilty on 114 of 115 charges
On 29 September, the Premier League confirmed that an independent commission had found City guilty of 114 of the 115 financial charges brought in 2023, covering alleged breaches across nine seasons. City have said they will appeal and insist they are “innocent of the accusations”.
Read also: Football legend opens up on 15-year battle with chronic illness
The sanction will be set at a separate hearing, with no date announced. Under Premier League Rule W64 the commission can issue a fine, a points deduction or expulsion. Financial analyst Kieran Maguire has suggested a points deduction in the range of 40 to 60 would reflect the scale and the duration of the breaches, far above the 6-to-10 point deductions imposed previously on Everton and Nottingham Forest.
The Mainoo comparison
The column’s case for Anderson is statistical, not quoted. It cites 22.8 line-breaking passes per 90 minutes and 2.8 combined tackles and interceptions per 90 for Anderson, placing him in the top 15 per cent of Premier League midfielders. Kobbie Mainoo, it concedes, remains ahead of Anderson on pass completion at 93 per cent. The “world-class” label the column attaches to Anderson is sourced to the analyst Statman Dave, not to anyone inside Old Trafford.
Mainoo’s own position at United is firmer than the piece suggests. Pushed to the margins under Ruben Amorim last season, he was restored by Carrick alongside Casemiro and started five consecutive league wins in that role. His absence from United’s registered 25-man list for 2026-27 is a technicality: born after the start of 2005, he is Under-21-eligible and automatically available.
No corroboration elsewhere
Neither Fabrizio Romano nor David Ornstein has reported a renewed United interest in Anderson since his move to City. No club source has suggested a shift in strategy at Carrington, and United’s recent midfield spend, which the FootballFanCast piece puts at over £150m, has gone on other players.
Read also: The All Blacks have not lost at Eden Park in 32 years. The Wallabies have never cared less
Carrick himself survived the international break with one win in the last five league games and a growing list of alternative names, including Eddie Howe, in circulation around his job. The sanction hearing for City has no date set.
Read also: Arsenal’s perfect start is over. Now Leeds arrive at the Emirates
