Man City 'could agree' Man Utd hijack with £75m 'swap deal' transfer amid 'release clause' claim

According to reports, Manchester City ‘could agree a swap deal’ involving Nottingham Forest standout Elliot Anderson to sign the Manchester United target.

England international Anderson has been one of the standout performers in the Premier League over the past 18 months as he has sparkled since joining Nottm Forest from boyhood club Newcastle United.

In recent months, Anderson has become a regular for England and it currently looks likely that he will start for the Three Lions at next summer’s World Cup.

This is likely to lead to Anderson leaving Nottm Forest in 2026 as several clubs are in the market for a No.6 and he stands out as one of the most tempting options.

Recent reports have indicated that Man Utd are among the main clubs interested in signing the 22-year-old, but they do face competition from other Premier League clubs.

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Man City have also been mentioned as a potential contender for Anderson, and it has been suggested that they could sign him for around £75m in 2026.

Football finance expert Stefan Borson has responded to this speculation and has indicated that he wouldn’t be “shocked” if there “were a release clause” in his Forest contract.

“It’s a bit of an odd story because it seems to be everywhere,” Borson said in an interview with Football Insider.

“I wonder whether there’s a release clause that people have been quite careful about, but it all seems strangely sort of certain that the fee is £75m, that there’s this interest and there’s a number of clubs that are thinking about it.

“I know it was international week and Anderson obviously emerged as part of that.

“But given what happened and what we know about with Gibbs-White, it really wouldn’t transpire to be a huge shock if there was a release clause.

“Then if there is a release clause, I think the whole picture changes because it just removes one of those elements of difficulty in a deal negotiation, unless you screw the thing up by leaking it and then saying that you are paying the release clause. I think that could be what’s going on.”

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Borson has also suggested that Man City ‘could agree a swap deal’ after doing business with Forest in previous windows.

“If it’s not a release clause and let’s say the fee is £75m, City can afford it as part of the investment that they’re making and likely will have players going the other way in terms of young player sales,” Borson added.

“We know that City did have negotiations, particularly in relation to Rico Lewis in the summer.

“McAtee actually signed for Forest, so there’s certainly players that could go the other way in the event of a deal if City wanted to do it that way.

“I think we’ll just have to wait and see. It could just be paper talk, but it did strike me as a little bit strange the way that it’s been reported.”

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