Elliot Anderson is having a stellar campaign despite Nottingham Forest finding themselves in a relegation battle this season.
The 23-year-old midfielder joined the club for £35million in July 2024, signing from Newcastle United who were forced to sell due to PSR rules.
Fast forward nearly two years, and Anderson is looking like an England starter at the 2026 World Cup. And a player who is highly sought after ahead of the 2026-27 Premier League campaign.
Thomas Tuchel himself stated that the Premier League is “a very physical league, a very physically demanding league, a very direct league”, wanting to build his team around the culture of the English league.
No one epitomises this more than Anderson. And that has already been evident with Tuchel’s repeated selection of the midfielder.
In this article, we’ll cover
Anderson’s season so far
Anderson has made 39 appearances for Nottingham Forest across all competitions so far this season. He’s scored twice and provided two assists during that time.
The England midfielder has been consistently available despite his high octane playstyle and has provided the real quality in the middle of the park for Forest in a tough campaign.
Anderson has made 1,954 open-play passes in the Premier League this season, more than any other midfielder. He ranks fifth in the metric overall, with only Jan Paul van Hecke, Trevoh Chalobah, Lewis Dunk and Virgil van Dijk making more open-play passes.
The Englishman also leads the Premier Leauge for possessions won, with 250 in total this season. That’s a whopping 86 more than second-placed Joao Gomes.
Anderson has also won the most ground duels (341) and made the fourth-most tackles (84), showing his all action capaity as a midfielder.
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Progressive qualities
Anderson is the progressive hub in midfield for Nottingham Forest. He possesses the ability to break lines with his passing, beat pressure with his ability to carry and can find solutions against a variety of defensive schemes.
The Premier League tactical landscape is shifting massively towards man-for-man pressing, making midfielders with press resistance and ability to progress the ball gamebreakers.
If you can bait the pressure from the opposition front press and outplay against their momentum, you can find the overload in the attacking third by taking multiple players out of the game.
Anderson has these qualities in abundance. He uses his body to shield the ball against pressure, manipulates the ball with all surfaces of the boot to entice pressure and has the bravery to play through and progress.
Two key straits of a Premier League midfielder is the ability to bait pressure and accelerate through pressure. Anderson boasts both of these at the highest level. His stock is only going one way.
Out-of-possession monster
Having all of these progressive qualities is one thing. But as previously mentioned, the tactical landscape is becoming increasingly dependent on the out-of-possession side of the game.
Luckily, Anderson offers this side of the game too. He possesses the athleticism to cover ground, win duels and make tackles in key areas.
The top sides are facing more and more physical low blocks in the current tactical landscape. This has a knock-on effect as you look to throw more bodies forward and leave yourselves susceptible to transitions.
Anderson’s ability to control transitions with his duel-winning capacity and mobility is a key trait for top sides building their midfields, with one eye on their rest defence structure.
Having midfielders who can positively contribute to the rest defence structure and press in a man-for-man fashion off the ball with intensity is becoming vital to success in the Premier League. Declan Rice is a prime example of this.
Best tactical fit?
The obvious fit for Anderson should he move in the summer would be Manchester City. The Citizens have struggled slightly more with their build up this season due to the loss of Ederson in goal. But they also lack athleticism in their rest defence to sustain pressure and control transitions.
Anderson lining up in midfield alongside Rodri would allow Man City to continue with their marauding full-backs while having a solid 2-2 rest defence at the base.
The build up unit including Anderson, Rodri, Marc Guehi and Ruben Dias would also give Man City excellent control. They’d have players capable of baiting the press and playing through, finding their talented attacking unit and affording them more space between the lines to thrive.
Other clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are reportedly interested. Newcastle are even rumoured to be interested in a move for their ex-academy product to replace Sandro Tonali in the summer.
Anderson is the perfect midfielder for the current direction of the Premier League. He possesses both the technical and physical attributes that make him an £100m midfielder who can transform a good team into an elite one.