Nottingham Forest in talks to seal their best signing since Anderson

Nottingham Forest recently smashed their record sale when they confirmed that Elliot Anderson had left to sign for Premier League rivals Manchester City.

The Tricky Trees sold the England international to the Cityzens for a mammoth fee of £116m, making him the most expensive British player in history, before Morgan Rogers completes his £117m move to Chelsea.

That deal eclipsed the £52m that Newcastle United paid them for Swedish winger Anthony Elanga, which means that Anderson is the most valuable Forest player of all time.

His mega move to Manchester City came just two years after he made the move to the City Ground from Newcastle for a fee of £35m, with the club making a significant profit on the central midfielder.

How Elliot Anderson became a star at Nottingham Forest

Forest hit the jackpot with the English midfield star because they were willing to pay a fairly significant fee to sign him from the Magpies, despite the fact that he had not been a regular starter at St. James’ Park.

The 23-year-old talent only started ten of his 21 appearances in the Premier League under Eddie Howe in the 2023/24 campaign, which means that he did not get the chance to showcase his quality over a run of games.

In two seasons with Forest, however, Anderson started 70 out of 76 possible matches in the Premier League, which allowed him to flourish in the middle of the park.

The stark contrast in his statistics in the 2023/24 campaign at Newcastle to the 2025/26 season with the Tricky Trees illustrates how much of a difference regular game time can have in a player’s development.

Anderson became a star at the City Ground because the club were willing to give him a regular starting berth to aid his development, and their faith in him ended up helping them to rake in a fee of £116m.

Nottingham Forest in talks for their best signing since Anderson

Now, the club are looking at a player who could join Oliver Glasner‘s side as their best signing since Anderson ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

Portuguese outlet Record reports that Nottingham Forest are eyeing up a move to sign Sporting central defender Ousmane Diomande in the summer transfer window.

The report claims that the Tricky Trees have already held talks with the Portuguese giants over a possible deal for the defender, who is valued at a minimum of £43m.

It adds that Glasner wanted to sign him during his tenure at Crystal Palace, and is now leading the charge to bring him to Forest if Murillo or Nikola Milenkovic move on this summer.

Forest would have to shell out a club-record fee to sign the Ivorian star, as their current record stands at the £37.5m they paid Ipswich for Omari Hutchinson, and he could be worth the money.

Diomande could be the club’s best signing since Anderson because he is another player who has the potential to kick on and become an incredibly valuable asset who is sold for a big profit in the future.

He was linked with a £67m move to Chelsea in 2025 before a muscle injury and the Africa Cup of Nations meant that he only played 17 times in the league for Sporting last season.

Despite his limited game time, Diomande still showcased his quality as a centre-back, particularly on the European stage in his nine Champions League appearances.

The 22-year-old defender completed 93% of his attempted passes and won 67% of both his ground and aerial duels in Europe’s premier competition, showing off both his exceptional passing quality and his dominant defending on the ground and in the air.

Murillo, for example, only completed 84% of his attempted passes and won 54% of his ground duels and 52% of his aerial battles in the Premier League last term, suggesting that Diomande has the potential to offer more quality on and off the ball as a centre-back.

Providing the Ivorian star with the platform to showcase his ability in the Premier League on a weekly basis could help him to raise his value back to the £67m, or possibly higher, that it was at last year when he was linked to Chelsea.

That is why Diomande could be the club’s best signing since Anderson because he is another elite talent in the making who needs an opportunity to shine on a regular basis in a major European league.