Has Elliot Anderson delivered after £116m move to Manchester City?

Elliot Anderson has been under scrutiny since his £116m transfer from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City in the summer, and his early performances for City were assessed in a report published on 6 November 2026 ahead of his return to the City Ground on Saturday. The piece examines whether the 24-year-old has met the high expectations placed upon him after his switch to the Etihad Stadium.

Anderson began his career at Newcastle before moving to Nottingham Forest and then to Manchester City, and his stock rose rapidly after two strong seasons at Forest that attracted interest from Manchester United and Arsenal. The 24-year-old established himself as one of the Premier League’s top players and has become a key man for England, helping Thomas Tuchel's side to a third-placed finish at this summer's World Cup. European football expert Guillem Balague said he had spoken to City manager Enzo Maresca in the summer and, when asked if Maresca wanted Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, the Italian's response was "no", adding: "Anderson is going to become the key player for England, not just City."

Last season Anderson led the central midfielders in several metrics, topping rankings for touches of the ball, winning possession, contesting duels and drawing fouls, despite doing so in a Forest side that had four different managers and finished five points above the relegation zone. His influence at Forest was notable across those measures even as the club struggled.

This season Anderson’s underlying numbers remain among the division’s best: he has drawn more fouls (28) than any other player, ranks second for duels won (66) and third for successful passes (610) and touches on the ball (851). Only Tottenham's Jan Paul van Hecke and Arsenal's Declan Rice have completed more successful passes in the opposition half and more line-breaking passes than Anderson, but Anderson has played at least 66 minutes fewer than both. Operating mainly as a deep-lying number six, he has one goal and two assists in 14 games this season and provided the assist for Erling Haaland's winner against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Haaland praised Anderson after the Leipzig game, saying: "He has been amazing," and adding: "He has had an amazing start to his City career and that is what you expect. You have to come straight in and perform. "It is not easy to come in, you need to adapt and new players and a new coach, so he he has been impressive. Respect." Observations from a training session open to the media showed Anderson working alone on kick-ups before stepping up in a group drill, finishing a slalom exercise by "smashing a finish into a mini net." Maresca told BBC Sport: "Knowing him now, he is a guy who wants to learn every day and we sat with him with video [analysis]. "He wants to understand things, he wants to learn and improve and for a manager it's a dream because you know that he wants to learn and you can do different things."

Maesca has used Anderson predominantly as City’s number six, a role that demands more positional discipline than some of his previous uses; after Manchester City's 4–1 win over Crystal Palace in August Anderson said: "I'm loving [my role but] it's a bit different to what I've been used to. I've got to be a bit more structured, that's what I'm learning, to stay in my position. At Forest I was doing a little bit more." His physicality and intensity have enabled frequent ball recoveries and solo defensive interventions, but opponents have also tried to exploit his tendency to follow players by using decoy off-the-ball runs.

Those decoy runs were highlighted in examples involving Sunderland's Enzo le Fee, Paris St-Germain and Brighton, where players dropped deep or wide to entice Anderson away from the holding midfield position, creating space for team-mates such as Brian Brobbey. Ayyoub Bouaddi has been trialled alongside Anderson in midfield; when Anderson vacates the holding role, having a second defensive midfielder alongside him has been used to help protect the centre of the pitch as he adapts to Maresca's tactical demands.

The article notes parallels with Rodri's early period in the role; Pep Guardiola said of Rodri in 2021: "Last season he moved too much. The holding midfielder has to be there, don't move, be there." The piece records that Rodri won the Ballon d'Or in 2024 and states that Anderson's debut season at City has begun better than Rodri's did in 2020, while adding that City will be keen for Anderson to develop the positional understanding expected of the player they signed.

Anderson is due to return to the City Ground on Saturday, where he may receive a warm reception; Forest supporter Ellie Molloson said: "I know the stadium will be ringing with 'Geordie Maradona'." Maresca faces the wider task of addressing mounting Manchester City issues while integrating Anderson into the side.