Elliott Anderson will not get everything he wants at Manchester City even if he completes a record-breaking move to the Etihad Stadium. Nottingham Forest will receive a transfer fee of £116 million after an agreement was reached at club level earlier this week. This is the highest amount ever paid for an English player, surpassing the £100m City spent to sign Jack Grealish five years ago.
Anderson, currently playing for England at the World Cup, has emerged as one of the Premier League’s hottest midfielders in recent seasons. The player is expected to leave Forest this summer and City moved quickly to sign him. A medical examination will take place in New York on Friday, and the deal is subject to the completion of personal conditions.
Anderson will almost certainly enjoy a significant pay increase, but he will likely have to make compromises in other areas if a move is finalized.
That’s because his desired uniform number has already been decided. He usually wears the number 8 at both club and international level, but the number 8 shirt is currently worn by Mateo Kovacic.
That means Anderson will need to choose a new shirt number when he officially joins City for next season. One potential option could be No. 12, which has been available since Angelino left the club in 2020.
The midfielder could inherit the number 17 shirt that became iconic during Kevin De Bruyne’s time at the club, with the possibility of acquiring numbers 18 and 19 as well.
Anderson made 92 appearances for Forest and played in every league game in 2025/26, scoring four goals and providing four assists.
He made his debut for England in September and started both games against Croatia and Ghana in the World Cup. He is likely to be named in the starting XI again when the Three Lions take on Panama on Saturday.
City expected their initial bid, worth more than £100m, to be rejected by Forest, but personal terms were expected to be OK and an agreement was eventually reached.
They will be hoping that Anderson will hit the ground running next season as they aim to dethrone Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
