£80m English star wants to join Man Utd

Coming into the summer transfer window Manchester United had a clear plan to replace the departing Casemiro.

Elliot Anderson was their man. He was the dream target. Well, that was until rivals Manchester City came to the table and blew away United with a remarkable offer.

City have placed a £120m bid that includes add-ons for the Nottingham Forest star but it was rejected. They want even more for their star man.

For United, they are a great historic club but they were never going to be able to compete at a price like that. Alternatives must be sought.

Man United’s Elliot Anderson alternatives

While Ederson is yet to be officially confirmed as a Manchester United player, the general consensus is that it is only a matter of time before he arrives.

A late call-up for the Brazil squad at the World Cup after Wesley’s injury, that may well put any move on hold for now but everything is agreed to take him to Old Trafford to the tune of £39m. That’s quite a fair bit cheaper than Anderson.

United may well feel as though they’ve replaced Casemiro by bringing the Atalanta man to the club but they need another midfielder. It won’t be Anderson so who could it be?

Mateus Fernandes at West Ham continues to be linked but at £85m, he has a pretty high price tag himself. As does Sandro Tonali, another reported target. He could leave Newcastle for around £100m.

If you are signing a player from a Premier League club this summer then it will cost you an absolute fortune. That stretches to another target in the form of Alex Scott.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, United are ‘refusing’ to enter a bidding war for Anderson and as a consequence, are now looking at alternatives.

They are focusing on two players who are said to ‘want them’, including the aforementioned Fernandes and Bournemouth’s Scott.

Reports earlier this week indicated that amid talks of a contract extention at the Vitality Stadium, the Cherries midfielder is being price at about £80m.

Why Scott could be Man United’s own Anderson

Casemiro’s departure from Old Trafford this summer is set to leave a huge hole in midfield.

While it was not long ago that Jamie Carragher told the Brazilian to leave football before it leaves you, he has proven his doubters wrong.

Really, it was rather silly we ever wrote off a multiple Champions League winner. He is one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation and proved as much during his final season with United.

Casemiro’s United swansong will be fondly remembered for the best goalscoring season of his career – he bagged nine – but he was still able to mop up danger immensely well alongside Kobbie Mainoo.

Paired with the English midfielder, Michael Carrick was able to establish one of the best midfields in the country with Bruno Fernandes spearheading things in the 10.

Yet, that has now been split up. Anderson was their top target and understandably so. Only one player, Manuel Ugarte, registered more defensive contributions per 90 minutes. No midfielder ran more km (318) across the whole season than the Englishman.

He would have been a simply incredible replacement for Casemiro but alas, they will have to go back to the drawing board.

In Scott, United could actually sign their own version of Anderson. Aged 22, he is just one year the Nottingham Forest star’s junior and they have had a similar football upbringing.

It was in the EFL where Scott honed his skills, dazzling for Bristol City. One Robins source has described him as “the best player” they have ever seen play for the club.

Likewise Anderson enjoyed a small education in the Football League. Before Newcastle let him go and before Forest stardom, the midfielder enjoyed a spell with Bristol Rovers back in 2022.

But, they also have similar qualities. While Scott is more of an 8 and Anderson is more of a 6, they both show a huge appreciation for keeping the ball and progressing play.

They are both brilliant carriers. Last season, the Bournemouth star did not hugely lag behind for dribbles per 90, completing 0.91, enough to rank him within the top 13% of Premier League midfielders for that metric. Anderson, by comparison, ranked as high as the top 4% with 1.35 successful dribbles.

They also get through a lot of defensive work. They are just tremendous at recovering the ball and reading play. While Scott registered a whopping 12.18 defensive contributions per 90, Anderson made a staggering 13.93. A lot of that work is done by recovering possession with the former making 6.14 recoveries and Anderson making 8.26 per 90 minutes.

Both possessing an immense amount of energy in the middle of the park, they would certainly offer more legs than Casemiro ever did in the engine room.

Of course, Anderson is the better player right now. It was he who was picked for England’s World Cup squad over Scott but the Bournemouth man is right on the cusp of making his Three Lions debut. He was part of the pre-tournament squad in America.

£80m is an astronomical amount for the Cherries star but it’s certainly better than paying another £40m or £50m for Forest’s talisman.