Elliot Anderson gives his first interview on his £116m move to Man City from Nottingham Forest

Elliot Anderson gives his first interview on his £116m move to Man City from Nottingham Forest, signing a five year deal.

The 23 year old’s transfer had briefly become a record for an English footballer, before Morgan Rogers joined Chelsea for £117 million nineteen days later.

He has already made a cheeky dig at City’s rivals Manchester United, by saying in his interview that his new club are “kings of Manchester”.

Welcome to City, Elliot Anderson 🩵 pic.twitter.com/yVjimIeaw8

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 23, 2026

Never in doubt 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/GI7Ud2ZT1L

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 23, 2026

A statement on the club’s website read: “Manchester City are delighted to confirm the signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest.

“The England international has agreed a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium.

“The 23-year-old began his career with Newcastle United before moving to Forest in 2024 and quickly becoming a key figure at the City Ground.

“A highly energetic box-to-box midfielder, Anderson’s tough tackling and creative passing has made him one of the Premier League’s standout young talents.

“He makes the move to City after missing just one Premier League game in the last two campaigns and cementing his place in Thomas Tuchel’s England plans.

“With 174 senior appearances in club football and seven international caps, Anderson also has experience far beyond his age.”

Director of Football Hugo Viana added: “Elliot is one of the outstanding young midfield talents in world football right now.

“He offers energy, outstanding work rate and an exceptional range of passing. His improvement in recent years has been really impressive and underlines his desire to be the best player he can be.

“At just 23, there is plenty of opportunity for development over the coming years and we feel he can become a complete midfielder. Manchester City is the best place for him to develop his game and keep improving, we are glad that he sees things the same way as we do.

“I look forward to seeing Elliot working with us ahead of the new season. I’m sure every City fan is excited to see what he can do.”

Speaking after putting pen to paper, Anderson said:

“City are one of the biggest clubs in the world and the squad they have is amazing – so strong in every position. As soon as I knew they wanted me, I was absolutely determined to make this move happen.

“As a footballer, you want to test yourself at the highest level. Being at City means I have that opportunity.

“From the outside looking in, City are a club that treats its players well and provides the perfect environment to excel. The success they have had and the way they have played the game in the last 10 to 15 years has been extraordinary. It’s a privilege to be given the chance to be part of that.

“As soon as I arrive in Manchester after a break, I will be doing everything I can to establish myself in the City team.

“It’s a club built to win trophies and compete at the very top of the game. That is exciting for any footballer.

“I am so happy to have been given this opportunity, and I am determined to repay the faith City have shown in me.”

Interviewer: Elliot, welcome to Manchester. What are your emotions as you sit here today now that you’re a Manchester City player?

Elliot: Yeah. I’m over the moon. Can’t wait to play for this club. You know, I’m really looking forward to it.

Interviewer: This move comes during a really special summer for you, one that you’ve dreamed of since being a boy. You’ve represented England at a World Cup and I know how special that is. I know the semi-final was disappointing, but overall, how do you assess the tournament from from your personal perspective?

Elliot: Yeah, it was disappointing but I think I loved it personally. As a team I think we had the whole country behind us and we done so well but just fell short but yeah know from a personal point of view I enjoyed it and I thought I’d done pretty well.

Interviewer: It’s been a rapid rise for you from Newcastle to Forest, England regular, now Manchester City. Has the speed of that progression taken you by surprise a little bit?

Elliot: A little bit. Yeah, I guess. Um, it’s happened quite quick, but I think I always believed that I could get to this point and, this is where I want to be and now that I’m here, I’ll keep pushing and and try and, take this club forward.

Interviewer: Given the quality of the performances in recent years, I can only assume that you had plenty of offers from from big clubs. So, why Manchester City? What was it about City that made you choose us?

Elliot: I think just the winners, you know, the relentless and that’s the sort of team I want to be a part of is champions and people who who win trophies and yeah, so as I say over the last um 10 12 years, it’s um they’ve they’ve dominated. So that’s why I wanted to join.

Interviewer: It feels like you’re coming into your prime years perhaps. How much more is they to come from Elliot Anderson do you feel?

Elliot: Yeah lots. I think I’m only 23 so I’ve got plenty of time to to get to my best levels and yeah I definitely think I’m not there yet and there’s there’s more to come for me.

Interviewer: So you join at a very exciting time. It’s a new era here at City. We’ve got a new manager Enzo Maresca. He’s a manager committed to playing attacking football. When we’ve got the ball we try and dominate possession and and and score goals. For a midfielder like yourself, how enticing is that? How exciting is it?

Elliot: Yeah, I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve watched his teams over the past couple of years and and spoke to a few of the lads from Chelsea and uh they all rate him very highly. So I’m really looking forward to getting to work with them.

Interviewer: When you watch teams that are coached by Enzo Maresa, you can see the intensity both in and out of possession. When we’ve got the ball, try and move it quickly. When we’ve not got the ball, we try and win it back quickly. Is that the kind of team that you want to play in?

Elliot: Yeah, 100%. I like to be intense when I play, you know, and uh use lots of energy around the pitch and get the fans going. So, yeah, I think that’ll be good.

Interviewer: What about the Manchester derby? We’ve got one of those fairly early in the season, probably the fourth game, I think it is. Huge game here in Manchester. How are you how much you looking forward to that sort of encounter?

Elliot: Yeah, it’s one of the biggest derbies in the world and for as long as I’ve known, Manchester City has been the kings of Manchester, so yeah, it’ll be a great fixture and I can’t wait to be to be involved in something like that.

Interviewer: You scored a great goal against City uh last season, but for those who are maybe not as familiar with your game, how would you describe your yourself to City fans who who are interested in what they’re going to be watching?

Elliot: Yeah, I think I bring a bit of everything. I bring quality. I bring physicality, energy, yeah. So, I’d like to think I’d get them excited, get them off their feet, and, yeah, bring energy to the team.

Interviewer: Manchester is a a great city. It’s got a lot to offer. Have you been looking into it and researching and are you excited to come and live here?

Elliot: Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a lovely part of the country and yeah my family and I will really enjoy this place.

Interviewer: City have got a great history of top midfielders. You know Rodri’s here obviously he’s a world class player. Kevin De Bruyne, Fernandinho. Have they inspired you? You know you were saying before you’ve watched City quite a lot during our dominant years. You know those midfielders are they the kind that you’ve looked at and taken things from into your own game?

Elliot: Definitely. Yeah. Probably said it last year. I think Kevin De Bruyne is someone who I’ve hugely looked up to over the past seven or eight years. I’ve always grown up through the through the academy at Newcastle, I’ve always wanted to play like him and I’ve watched him all the time and to be sat here, in the team that he was doing it for is is so special.

Interviewer: You are a graduate of Wallsend Boys Club, I believe, and obviously they’ve got a massive reputation for producing top quality players. What do you think it is about that part of the world, the north east, the love of football there that that creates top quality players?

Elliot: Yeah, I think it’s just the love for the game up there, the passion, all the kids just want to be footballers and it’s everyone’s dream and Wallsend is such a such a good club to progress and and learn your learn your skills there. So, yeah, it’s a great club.

Interviewer: And any footballer who gets to this stage of their career, gets to the very top of the game like you have, they’ve had the support of their family and their the closest friends, what message do you want to send to to your nearest and dearest today? Because obviously they’ve been around you and helped you get to this point.

Elliot: Yeah, I’m just so thankful for everything they’ve done to help me get here. It’s not just me who’s done it to be sat in this seat at the moment. It’s all my family who have who’ve been there for me all the time and and sacrificed things to make sure I was at every session growing up and not missed anything really. So, yeah, I couldn’t I couldn’t thank them enough.

Interviewer: You had the most touches uh last season in the Premier League and you completed more passes than any midfielder. Two incredible metrics. That sounds like a splayer who really wants to get on the ball, which is what we like to see here at City. It sounds like you’re kind of ready made for us really.

Elliot: Yeah, I like to think I’ll take the ball at any time and I love having the ball at my feet. I’ll I’ll help the team out when we’re in in tough times and yeah, I love to just be involved and getting the team going forward and ticking and and get all the good attacking players here on the ball.

Interviewer: Yeah, we definitely saw that in the World Cup and I’m sure you you’re pretty tired after what was a gruelling season already and then a very difficult World Cup. So, what are your plans now? Is it a case of going on holiday, putting your feet up for a while and then coming back to Manchester and trying to get in the team?

Elliot: Yeah, definitely. I think um I’ve got around 3 weeks off so I’ll go and relax, enjoy some sun somewhere and get right to work here.

Interviewer: I think Antoine Semenyo mentions that playing sort of lower league football earlier in his career really helped him, keeps him grounded and he taught him aspects of the game that maybe he wouldn’t have learned otherwise. You obviously had a time at Rovers and and and learned a lot there. What what was that experience like for you?

Elliot: Yeah, it was amazing. It was a time where I sort of stepped out my comfort zone and moved away from my family to play some first team football and I felt like I was ready for the step and yeah I thoroughly enjoyed the moment and playing with the pressures of of first team football every week and yeah the experience of being in a first team environment was really special.

Interviewer: And I think the Bristol Rovers fans nicknamed you the Geordie Maradona which is a great nickname. But joking aside, does that kind of nickname give you confidence and and make you, you know, make you feel like you’re able to reach the top of the game?

Elliot: Yeah, definitely. I think um they started that and it’s sort of stuck everywhere I’ve been and it’s a really good one. It sort of it makes me happy when I hear it on the pitch and um yeah, it gives me real confidence.

Interviewer: Well, Elliot, congratulations on making this move. We’re all looking forward to watching you play and good luck for the rest of your time.