Man Utd gunning for £75m midfield signing that’ll make Newcastle sick

Manchester United are ‘big admirers’ of a £75m-rated midfielder and have entered the race to complete a deal that will make Newcastle wince, according to reports.

After investing heavily in a new goalkeeper and three new forwards last summer, Man Utd’s next priority is signing one and possibly two new central midfielders.

Casemiro is expected to leave when his contract expires in the summer. Kobbie Mainoo is growing increasingly frustrated at his lack of opportunities, Manuel Ugarte clearly isn’t the answer, while Bruno Fernandes will assess his future at season’s end and has one eye on moving to a major European league.

As such, all eyes will be on who Man Utd sign in the engine room and many of their transfer targets are already common knowledge.

Indeed, it’s no secret Man Utd have taken a shine to Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Morten Hjulmand, to name just three.

But according to the latest from The Mirror, Man Utd’s next addition in central areas could actually come by way of Nottingham Forest.

Elliot Anderson – who has forced his way into England’s starting eleven this year – is in Man Utd’s crosshairs.

The 23-year-old has ‘big admirers’ at Old Trafford – as our reporter Dean Jones exclusively first revealed on September 10 – and Man Utd have now reportedly joined Manchester City and Chelsea in actively chasing his signature.

Anderson is primarily a defensive midfielder but has also caught the eye with his ability to make well-timed forward runs into dangerous areas.

Forest would obviously fight tooth and nail to retain their star midfielder, but the club’s struggles could make it difficult to resist a lucrative sale. Suffering relegation to the Championship would almost certainly prompt an exit.

On the subject of cost, The Mirror claimed Anderson is now valued at £75m by Forest.

Newcastle could have part to play in Elliot Anderson future

Anderson is a product of Newcastle’s academy and but for a need to conform to PSR regulations, they’d never have sold the player to Forest.

Newcastle let both Anderson and Yankuba Minteh (Brighton) go in the summer of 2024 to balance the books. The alternative was selling Anthony Gordon to Liverpool and Newcastle preferred option one.

That decision is now looking like a mistake and TEAMtalk has been informed Newcastle are interested in bringing Anderson back if the opportunity arises. Eddie Howe in particular is keen to forge a reunion.

But as we’ve seen in very recent history, when a player has a choice between Newcastle and Man Utd, they almost always choose the latter.

Newcastle pushed to sign Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko over the summer. Ultimately, all three chose Man Utd and in Sesko’s case, he rejected the chance to earn higher wages at Newcastle to do so.

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