Sources: Arsenal “sense” chance to beat Man City & Chelsea to £100m transfer
Arsenal “sense an opportunity” to get involved with one of the major transfer sagas of the summer as they explore a deal for Elliot Anderson.
As has been widely reported, both here and elsewhere, there is a huge amount of interest in Nottingham Forest midfielder Anderson, which will come as no surprise after his tremendous form this season.
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The England international has stood out as one of the top players in his position in the Premier League, and arguably all of Europe’s big five leagues, and there’s been the sense for some time that Manchester City are leading the race for his signature.
Most recently, however, sources have informed me that Chelsea are serious about Anderson as a replacement for Enzo Fernandez amid doubts over his Stamford Bridge future.
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Arsenal sense Elliot Anderson transfer opportunity despite Man City links
The latest I’m hearing is that we can’t discount Arsenal in the Anderson story, with the Gunners also big fans of the 23-year-old’s qualities.
“Don’t rule out Arsenal just yet,” one source close to the agents industry told me on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships.
“Man City have had talks, they’re feeling positive about their position, but nothing’s done yet. What I’m hearing is that Arsenal sense an opportunity to get something done. We’ll have to see if they’re right, as other clubs have done more work on this as of now.”
| Elliot Anderson | TOTAL SCORE: 19/25 |
| Transfer fee | * |
| Performance | ***** |
| Achievements | **** |
| Career phase | ***** |
| Squad need | **** |
How we rated Elliot Anderson to Arsenal with our Transfer Fit scoring system
Although Arsenal already have good options in midfield, it’s a position they’re open to strengthening in this summer after relying heavily on both Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi this season.
Christian Norgaard hasn’t had many opportunities at all, so one imagines Mikel Arteta is keen for a more trusted third option to allow him to rotate more in that department.
Anderson is a similar profile to Rice, so it makes sense that he’s someone Arteta is keen to have at Arsenal as well.
Elliot Anderson transfer looks too expensive for Arsenal
However, it is worth noting that Forest are likely to want upwards of £100m for Anderson.
While we’ve seen AFC may that kind of money before for Rice, it’s far from ideal for the club when they also look in need of a marquee signing in attack this summer.
Many sources I’ve spoken to have indicated that a left winger and striker could be looked at as major investments, so that doesn’t leave much room for a midfielder like Anderson as well.
The sale of a big name like Martin Odegaard could perhaps facilitate more spending throughout the squad, but that’s far from a certainty at this point.
Overall, the Anderson situation remains open. City might feel confident, but others have played that down and we’ll likely see further links in the weeks and months ahead. Arsenal really like him, as do Chelsea, and I’d also expect the likes of Newcastle and Bayern Munich to keep an eye on the situation too.
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