Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has revealed his ‘admiration’ for Manchester United and Chelsea transfer goal Elliot Anderson.
Anderson’s form at Nottingham Forest has seen him join Rice within the England squad and attract interest from quite a few top clubs.
Forest’s £35m deal to sign Anderson from Newcastle United seemed steep on the time however the 23-year-old now looks like a bargain signing, given he’s now valued at closer to £100m.
Anderson was superb last season as Nottingham Forest finished seventh within the Premier League and qualified for Europe, and has continued to impress this term despite the club’s struggles.
Forest have sacked Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche during this campaign and still face an enormous fight to avoid relegation to the Championship, currently sitting seventeenth, level on points with 18th-placed West Ham.
Anderson will definitely be sold if Forest are relegated but is predicted to be on the move even when current manager Vítor Pereira keeps them within the English top-flight.
The England international is believed to be Manchester United’s first-choice goal for the midfield position despite the Red Devils also admiring Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton.
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But United are usually not alone in showing interest in Anderson, who has also been linked with Chelsea and Manchester City.
Whether any of those clubs are willing to satisfy Forest’s steep demands stays to be seen but Rice has suggested they’d be smart to accomplish that, insisting he ‘really admires’ Anderson and sees numerous himself in his England teammate.
‘We’re like a hybrid of one another really,’ Rice said of Anderson in an interview with The i Paper.
‘We each play six, we each play eight, each like to attack the box, defend the box. He’s a player I actually admire.’
Anderson has earned six England caps because the start of last season and will well start for the Three Lions alongside Rice at this summer’s World Cup.
Manchester United seem like on the front of the queue to sign Anderson after failing to bring a brand new central midfielder to Old Trafford last summer.
Bryan Robson, the previous United captain, would welcome the arrival of Anderson or Wharton to the Theatre of Dreams but has warned neither will ‘come low cost’.
He told BoyleSports: ‘Who’s the midfielder Manchester United can sign this summer to enhance their team?
‘You’ve got Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton due to the clubs that they’re at. Whether or not they’ve got any get-out clauses, and the way much you’re going to need to pay to sign them, you’ve got to weigh that up.
‘I feel Wharton and Anderson are top players. They’ve proven it because they’ve each broken into the England squad.
‘You’re going to need to search for that style of player but you realize that that style of player will not be going to return low cost.’
While Anderson can have one eye on the summer – each due to the extreme transfer speculation and the looming World Cup – his current focus is on keeping Nottingham Forest within the Premier League.
Forest got here from behind twice to earn a beneficial point at Manchester City last trip and return to Premier League motion on Sunday against Fulham.
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