Transfer fees often reflect potential as much as proven quality. In Anderson’s case, City appear to believe they have bought both.
At 23, Anderson will arrive at Etihad Stadium as their record signing – beating the £100m City paid for Jack Grealish – having enjoyed a remarkable campaign for Forest, in which he quietly established himself as one of the Premier League’s most complete central midfielders.
While Forest finished 16th, Anderson’s influence on their performances was extraordinary.
No player in the Premier League recorded more touches than Anderson’s 3,300 during the 2025-26 campaign.
He also led the division for duels won (298), possessions won (306) and fouls won (80), underlining just how frequently he involved himself at both ends of the pitch.
Those numbers paint the picture of a midfielder who is constantly in the game. He demands possession, regains it more often than anyone else and rarely allows the intensity of his performance to drop.
His quality on the ball is equally striking. Among Premier League central midfielders, Anderson completed more passes (2,038) than anyone else and also led the position with 376 line-breaking passes.
Rather than simply recycling possession, he consistently looked to eliminate opponents by playing through defensive lines and advancing Forest up the pitch. That blend of security and ambition is rare.
The physical data is every bit as impressive. Anderson covered 411km across the Premier League season, second only to Everton’s James Garner, while his 1,895 high-intensity pressures ranked second among midfielders.
He started 37 league matches and only failed to do so once, when Forest heavily rotated before a Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa at the start of May.
Availability has become one of football’s most valuable attributes. Anderson not only performs at a high level, he does so week after week.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his campaign is the environment in which those numbers were produced.
Forest – who went through four managers – spent much of the season playing transitional football rather than dominating possession, meaning Anderson was regularly asked to defend large spaces before quickly turning defence into attack.
Despite those demands, he still finished among the league leaders for progressive passing while also topping multiple defensive categories.
His attacking contribution should not be overlooked either. Anderson finished the Premier League season with four goals and four assists, while creating 54 chances, nine big chances and generating 4.8 expected assists. Within Forest’s squad, no player created more chances or big chances.
The statistics suggest City have not simply agreed to sign another technically-gifted midfielder, they are acquiring a player capable of influencing every phase of the game.
Record transfer fees inevitably invite scrutiny.
Yet Anderson’s numbers explain why City are prepared to invest so heavily. Few midfielders combine elite ball-winning, relentless work rate, progressive passing and creative output in the way he does.
The challenge now is translating those qualities into one of the world’s most demanding teams.
If Anderson can reproduce anything close to his Forest levels in a City side that expects to dominate possession every week, the record fee may soon look far less remarkable than it does today.
