Man United can still sign their own Elliot Anderson but he’ll cost £85m

Towards the end of this week it was revealed that Manchester United‘s hopes of signing Elliot Anderson were firmly over.

Truthfully, they have been done for a while now. Manchester City have been in pole position to land the Nottingham Forest man and a fee has now reportedly been agreed.

Anderson is set to move to the Etihad for a whopping £116m fee, making him the joint-second biggest transfer in Premier League history alongside Florian Wirtz. No pressure then, eh, Elliot?

Fortunately for United, they have had this vibe for a while and have been targeting plenty of alternatives in the market.

Why missing out on Elliot Anderson is a blessing in disguise for Man United

Don’t get us wrong, Anderson is a fine talent. He’s one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. There is a reason a team like Man City have moved heaven and earth to sign him this summer.

Yet, at £116m, it is an astronomical sum to pay. It’s £11m more than Declan Rice, a player who was arguably even better than Anderson when he joined Arsenal.

The fact of the matter is that for a price tag that big, you want the finished article, you want an asset who has been doing it at the top for years now. Anderson is not that; his performances at the World Cup have shown as much. He has struggled to get into games and has not been as convincing as he has been in a Forest shirt.

All in all, it’s why United have done incredibly well to wrap up a £39m move, pending confirmation, for Ederson of Atalanta. United are under no illusions that they will have pay a premium for a second midfielder.

Who could that be? Well, whoever it is, they will come cheaper than Anderson, thus leaving them enough in the kitty to strengthen other positions too.

One of the alternatives is Mateus Fernandes. Valued at £85m, he looks set to join either Tottenham Hotspur or United.

Delivering a new update on the West Ham star this week, Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg took to social media to say that United remain “determined” to sign the player and are not giving up despite the competition from Spurs.

Plettenberg concludes by revealing that while negotiations with the Hammers are ongoing, personal terms have already been agreed.

How Fernandes compares to Elliot Anderson

In Anderson, United would have found an elite midfield player capable of raising the ceiling of Michael Carrick’s team significantly.

Particularly with Casemiro departing, the England international ticks plenty of boxes. Ironically given the criticsm of Manuel Ugarte, the Urugauayan was the only player to register more defensive contributions per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season.

The Forest star has an exceptional season, notably celebrated by Thomas Tuchel as “one of the best midfielders in the Premier League”. Based on that, it is no surprise he has partnered Declan Rice at the World Cup.

A complete midfielder, Anderson is a phenomenal screen in front of the back four but he’s also mightily effective in the final third. He scored a beauty against Man City which was just one of four goals he scored throughout 2025/26. The 23-year-old also picked up four assists. The Geordie-born superstar is a complete midfielder.

Yet, Fernandes is very much cut from a similar cloth. Just 21 years of age, United could sign one of the best up and coming midfielders in Europe here. He’s a player who is very much going to be a star of the future, if he isn’t already one.

Former midfielder Jo Tessem outlines it perfectly: “He [Fernandes] is becoming an ultimate Premier League midfielder. He plays like a Premier League player. He passes like a Premier League player. He is quick like a Premier League player. He conducts himself so well in midfield.”

That could quite easily describe Anderson. Both are technically secure, both are brilliant at breaking up play and both are incredibly hard workers.

Indeed, while City’s incoming record signing topped the charts for kilometers run in the top-flight this term, Fernandes wasn’t far behind. In fact, he was very close to matching Rice, usually the benchmark for a Premier League midfielder.

Not just runners out of possession, they are very good at progressing play when in possession too. Last season, Anderson made 1.13 progressive carries per 90 minutes to Fernandes’ tally of 1.10.

For a team looking to upgrade on the departing Casemiro, that is certainly good news. The Brazilian was an exceptional duel winner but he no longer had the energy to get about the pitch. As a point of comparison, he made just 0.35 per 90.

So, while Anderson may well have been the dream target, the Red Devils were never going to get close to that £116m fee. Signing Fernandes for a more reasonable but still expensive £85m is surely the next best thing.