Two summers ago, Elliot Anderson was watching the Euros with his mates somewhere — he cannot quite remember where. Now the 23-year-old Nottingham Forest midfielder is one of the first names on Thomas Tuchel’s England teamsheet at the World Cup and the subject of a bidding war between Manchester City and Manchester United, with Forest’s owner digging in against the assumption that his best player can simply be picked off at will.
The journey, as the Daily Mail’s Ian Ladyman writes, is one that nobody saw coming — least of all Anderson himself.
His move from Newcastle to Forest two summers ago only happened because Newcastle were forced to sell a homegrown talent to balance their books under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules. It was the kind of transfer that happens to players, not one they choose. “He envisaged staying at Newcastle for ever,” a source close to Anderson told Ladyman. “But when the move came out of the blue, he just walked out of the door and got on with it.”
That equanimity is, by all accounts, central to Anderson’s character. He is described by those who know him as reserved and unexcitable — a young man who knows his own mind and is unlikely to be rattled by the enormous pressures now converging on him simultaneously. Forest have already rejected an £80 million bid from Manchester City, who are currently favourites to sign him. United would also dearly like to pair him with Kobbie Mainoo in a new Old Trafford midfield next season. Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, meanwhile, is said to be irritated by the assumption that his star player is available for the taking, and is unlikely to make the sale easy for either club.
Tuchel has taken a pragmatic approach to the transfer circus swirling around Anderson and other players in his squad. “If anyone has the chance to complete a transfer, we will not stand in the way, but it has to align with our schedule and our goals, which is to be focused and prepare for matches,” the England manager said. “The doctor is ready to take any medical if needed! We are always happy to help to have clarity around the player.” It is a notably grown-up stance from a manager who spent years at Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich and understands better than most that the transfer market does not press pause for international tournaments.
Tuchel and his assistant Anthony Barry have privately described Anderson as the “gift that fell from the sky,” according to the Daily Mail — such was the speed and unexpectedness of his emergence as an indispensable midfield partner for Declan Rice. The question of who should play alongside Rice was one that plagued Tuchel’s predecessor Gareth Southgate for years. At the last Euros, Southgate tried Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher and eventually Kobbie Mainoo. Tuchel appears to have found his answer.
Anderson’s personal story adds texture to the football. He is not ashamed to cite the disgraced Joey Barton as one of his key early mentors — he went on loan to Bristol Rovers under Barton as a teenager, was told he would have to wait to get into the team, vowed to prove him wrong, and did so within a week. His brother Wil was a Love Island contestant. “When he went into the show I was playing for Newcastle and when he came out I was at Forest,” Anderson said. “I think he took longer to get his head round than I did.” He remains, by his own admission, unconvinced he is the most famous member of the family.
The summer also carries sadder context. Anderson lost his mother in mid-April, and this has by any measure already been one of the most testing periods of his young life. The club and country pressures bearing down on him now would test most players twice his age. Those who know him best suggest he will handle it in the same way he has handled everything else — quietly, and better than anyone expected.
