Manchester United have identified their ‘marquee summer signing’ as they bid to create a squad able to dominating once more.
United have been some of the in-form teams not only within the Premier League but England since Michael Carrick’s appointment as caretaker manager.
The Red Devils stagnated badly under former boss Ruben Amorim but have climbed as much as third under Carrick, winning seven of their last ten games.
Heading in the right direction to qualify for the Champions League for the primary time since 2024, Manchester United can be an appealing proposition for players on the move this summer.
United are being linked with a number of players from Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer to Arsenal outcast Myles Lewis-Skelly.
But a brand new midfielder stays the club’s priority and The Sun says Manchester United are able to go ‘all out’ and make Elliot Anderson their ‘marquee summer signing’.
Amorim wanted United to sign a brand new midfielder last summer however the club decided as a substitute to spend around £200m on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens.
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United were already planning to bolster their midfield options this summer before Casemiro announced in January that he was leaving at the tip of the season.
Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba have all been checked out by the Red Devils but it surely is claimed the Nottingham Forest star is at the highest of United’s list.
The glaring problem is Manchester City, who’ve also expressed interest in Anderson and are believed to be ‘confident’ that a deal may be struck.
But Manchester United haven’t given up hope of winning the transfer race and are reportedly able to plan their summer activity around Anderson.
Anderson has been the most effective midfielders within the Premier League since his £35m move from Newcastle United in 2023 and can be included in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup.
Rio Ferdinand is a known admirer of Anderson and recently urged his former club to focus on the Forest star in the summertime.
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‘Starting of the season everyone was talking about [Carlos] Baleba, he seems to have gone off the boil slightly bit form smart,’ Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
‘Elliot Anderson, he seems to have jumped to the front of the queue. I feel he’s a beautiful player.
‘I feel Elliot Anderson is the suitable type not only of player but character, I thin he’d be a great addition to the squad.
‘Tonali is a giant talent that everyone seems to be talking about, Guimaraes is one other big talent that everyone seems to be talking about, but I just think the style of midfielder United need is any individual who is a little more all-action, who can cover ground, who’s dynamic, who is powerful, strong, who can drive a team.
‘Right away Anderson appears to be ticking those boxes. But I feel there are a number of other young guns on the market who I won’t mention their names yet because I don’t want anyone else to get on that scent.’
Fellow Manchester United legend Bryan Robson has also talked up a move for Anderson, though he says Wharton would also slot in well at Old Trafford.
‘I feel Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson would definitely fit the standards for what Manchester United need in the summertime,’ Robson told BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest football odds.
‘They’re each homegrown too and that’s vital. It’s good to have a British core inside the club.
‘But foreign players do sensible at United too and there’s a great deal of them throughout the world that they’ll be scouting so there may be a player on the market who’s young and has that ability to develop into a Declan Rice or Wharton or an Anderson.
‘Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson are each good players. It’s about how much they’re going to cost.
‘You’ve got to have a look at that to see whether you’ll be able to buy considered one of them because I feel they’d each fit this United side well.
‘That’s if their clubs allow them to go away since you’ve all the time got that wherever you go or the player doesn’t want to come back to you, but it surely’s still very unusual that a player doesn’t want to come back to Manchester United.’
Carrick’s side return to Premier League motion on April 13 with a house match against Leeds United.
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