Elliot Anderson Man City deal gets B- in ESPN transfer grades
ESPN rated Manchester City’s £116m Elliot Anderson signing a B-, while Nottingham Forest earned an A+ for the record sale.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Elliot Anderson’s Man City move has landed a cautious verdict from ESPN, with Sam Tighe grading the £116 million ($153 million) transfer as a B- for the Premier League champions and an A+ for Nottingham Forest.
The 23-year-old midfielder’s switch is a club-record signing for City, according to ESPN. Tighe wrote that Anderson would have become the most expensive British player ever if Chelsea had not signed Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117 million ($158 million) a day earlier.
ESPN’s transfer grades judge each confirmed move from the men’s summer window from both clubs’ point of view. In Anderson’s case, the selling club got top marks for banking a vast fee, while City’s grade reflected the pressure and risk attached to such an expensive deal.
Why did Manchester City get a B- for Elliot Anderson?
ESPN’s reasoning was blunt: Anderson is a high-level, all-action midfielder, but a £116 million fee demands more than one excellent season. Tighe said City are taking on risk because Anderson must now sustain and improve that output over several years to justify the price.
The numbers behind the move are eye-catching. According to ESPN, Anderson led the Premier League last season in duels won with 297, recorded 3,308 touches and also handled Nottingham Forest’s set pieces.
Tighe described Anderson as central to Forest’s play, pointing to his blend of physical work, ball involvement and dead-ball duties. The grade for Forest reflected the scale of the fee for a player who had become the hub of their side.
What other July 23 transfers did ESPN grade?
Anderson was the headline act in ESPN’s July 23 update, but three other confirmed moves were also graded.
Christos Tzolis moved from Club Brugge to Arsenal for €40 million ($45.7 million). ESPN gave Club Brugge a B+ and Arsenal a B, noting the fee was a Belgian Pro League record departure and that Tzolis is expected to take on minutes previously held by Leandro Trossard, who joined Besiktas for £15.3 million.
Karim Adeyemi joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for €22 million ($25 million), with the fee potentially rising to €29 million. ESPN graded Dortmund a B and Barcelona a C+, citing Adeyemi’s pace while questioning the consistency of his wider game and pressing.
Alejandro Garnacho moved from Chelsea to Aston Villa on loan with an option. ESPN gave Chelsea a B- and Villa a B, reporting that Unai Emery had wanted the winger for more than a year and that the deal could become permanent if appearance conditions are met.
How does the Anderson fee compare with the summer’s biggest deals?
ESPN placed Anderson just behind Rogers in the British transfer record race. Rogers’ £117 million move to Chelsea beat Anderson’s fee by £1 million, according to the grading column.
The update also sits inside a wider market that has already produced major Premier League business. ESPN said the 2025 summer window saw Premier League clubs spend a record £3 billion ($4 billion), and noted that the 2026 window opened on June 15 in England and July 1 for most other major European leagues.
For City, Anderson arrives with elite domestic production and a fee that turns every touch into a talking point. For Forest, ESPN’s verdict was cleaner: an A+ sale at a price few clubs can ignore.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.