Eyebrows were raised when back in 2024, Nottingham Forest agreed to spend £35million on Elliot Anderson.
The versatile midfielder had made over 40 appearances for boyhood team Newcastle but minutes had been sparse with Anderson racking up a little over 1,400 Premier League minutes across two campaigns. He’d failed to score and managed to register just three assists.
In no way was he worth £35million.
With both Newcastle and Forest needing to sell to ease PSR concerns, it felt like some creative accounting had been utilised in order to move Anderson to City Ground and Odysseas Vlachodimos to St James’ Park.
Yet as we head into the final stages of the 2025/26 campaign, the £35million spent on Anderson now looks like one of the club’s best ever deals.
The nomadic midfielder found a home at the base of the Forest midfield and used that as a platform to force his way into the England squad. He now looks to be the favourite to partner Declan Rice at the World Cup.
He tops the wishlist of a number of Premier League clubs too with Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all reportedly keen on the £100million-rated midfielder.
The hype is justified too.
On Sunday afternoon, Forest hosted Liverpool at the City Ground. In those opening 45 minutes, Vítor Pereira’s side bossed the reigning Premier League champions. Arne Slot’s team were forced into a low-block and had to settle for just 42% of the ball.
Forest might’ve played in Istanbul on Thursday but they looked fitter, sharper and hungrier than their visitors.
Instrumental in that was Anderson. The 23-year-old completed more passes in the first half (36) than Liverpool pair Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister (29) managed as a duo.
The double pivot of Anderson and Ibrahim Sangare bossed things for the hosts.
The Forest No8 made four tackles, a total only Sangare (six) could better. He made the most recoveries (12), won the most duels (nine) and had an 80% success rate in aerial duels.
Anderson had the most touches in the game (90), and finished with the most defensive contributions (19). The latter stat is even more impressive when you consider it was 50/50 in terms of possession on Sunday.
The six-cap England international put in a defensive shift that is usually tied to a team under pressure for the entire match.
Forest, however, went toe-to-toe with Liverpool and it was Anderson’s contributions without the ball that helped the hosts suffocate their opponents before the half-time whistle gave the Reds a breather and a chance to reassess the situation.
He’s more than just a destroyer though. Having come through the ranks as an attacking midfielder, and having dabbled as a winger during this time at Newcastle, Anderson provides a lot of on-ball value. Earlier in the season, speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher called Anderson “one of the best midfield players in the Premier League.”
There was even a feature on him showing he was the most complete midfielder in the English top-flight, averaging the most line-breaking passes as well as winning the ball the most times on a per 90 basis.
In modern day football, midfielders get placed in buckets. The Forest No8 could find himself in every single one of these buckets. He’s a game-changer in every single phase and against Liverpool, he showed exactly what the Reds are missing.
He showed why he should be top of their wishlist this summer. He showed why the £100million fee would be reasonable.
Right now, Slot favours a midfield pivot of Gravenberch and Mac Allister. On occasion, Dominik Szoboszlai starts in a deeper role and Curtis Jones has his time in the XI. All are very good at certain things but you wouldn’t really class any of them as someone who can do it all.
Szoboszlai has been unbelievable this season but he’s suited to this heroball approach he’s had to adopt. In a double pivot, he can be lacking without the ball.
Mac Allister, for everything he’s good at, doesn’t have the engine or the physicality to bully opponents now.
Gravenberch is a cheatcode when pressed but on-ball he is lacking as a passer.
Jones divides opinion and looks likely to be sold this summer.
Anderson, heading into the game against Liverpool, had covered more ground in the Premier League than any other player this season.
Against the Reds, he had four shots and created two chances, all while dominating defensively. This season, he’s joint-top within the Forest squad for chances created alongside Morgan Gibbs-White. He’s joint-top for expected assists (xA) with Omari Hutchinson.
He’s rivalling attacking midfielders for chance creation. He’s third within the squad for successful dribbles per 90, second for successful tackles and third for interceptions.
The 23-year-old does everything and he does it well.
If Liverpool want to future proof their midfield and give it something it is desperately lacking, Anderson is the must-buy if money, like last summer, is no object.
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