£80m English star wants to join Manchester United

Heading into the summer transfer window, Manchester United had clear plans to replace the departing Casemiro.

Elliott Anderson was their guy. He was a dream target. Well, that was until rivals Manchester City came into the fray and blew United away with an amazing offer.

City made a £120m bid with add-ons for the Nottingham Forest star, but it was rejected. They demand more from their star players.

For United, they are a club with a great history, but there was no way they could compete at such a price. I have to look for alternatives.

Substitute for Elliott Anderson at Manchester United

Ederson is not yet officially confirmed as a Manchester United player, but the general consensus is that it is only a matter of time before he arrives.

A late call-up to Brazil’s World Cup squad following Wesley’s injury may put the transfer on hold for now, but all is agreed to bring him to Old Trafford for £39m. It’s much cheaper than Anderson.

United may feel like they brought the Atalanta man to the club to replace Casemiro, but they need another midfielder. It won’t be Anderson, so who will it be?

West Ham’s Matheus Fernandes continues to be rumored, but at £85m he is quite expensive in his own right. So is Sandro Tonali, another reported target. He could leave Newcastle for around £100m.

Signing players from Premier League clubs this summer will cost a lot of money. That extends to another target: Alex Scott.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, United have “refused” to enter the race for Anderson and are currently considering alternatives as a result.

They are keeping an eye on two players they are said to want to sign, including the aforementioned Fernandes and Bournemouth’s Scott.

Reports earlier this week claimed the Cherries midfielder is being valued at around £80m amid contract extension talks at the Vitality Stadium.

Why Scott could be Man United’s Anderson

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

It wasn’t long ago that Jamie Carragher told the Brazilian to quit before he left football, but he has proven his doubts wrong.

Really, it was pretty stupid to ignore the multiple Champions League winners. He is one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation and he proved that in his final season at United.

Casemiro’s spell at United will be fondly remembered as the best scoring season of his career – he scored nine goals – but he was still able to eliminate danger very well alongside Koby Mainu.

Michael Carrick, in combination with the English midfielder, was able to establish one of the best midfields in the country, with Bruno Fernandes leading the 10 team.

But it is now divided. Anderson was their number one target, and rightly so. Only one player, Manuel Ugarte, made more defensive contributions per 90 minutes. No midfielder covered more kilometers (318km) than the Englishman over the entire season.

He would have been a really great replacement for Casemiro, but sadly they will have to go back to the drawing board.

In Scott’s case, United could actually sign their own version of Anderson. The 22-year-old is a year the Nottingham Forest star’s junior and they have had similar football upbringings.

It was in the EFL that Scott honed his skills and went on to shine for Bristol City. One Robins official described him as “the best player” to have ever played for the club.

Similarly, Anderson also received a small education in the Football League. The midfielder spent 2022 at Bristol Rovers before Newcastle let him go and became Forest’s star player.

But they also have similar properties. Scott is closer to an 8 and Anderson is closer to a 6, but they both show great appreciation for holding onto the ball and moving plays forward.

They both have great careers. Last season, the Bournemouth star wasn’t far behind in terms of dribble success rate per 90 points, achieving 0.91, good enough to rank within the top 13% of Premier League midfielders on this metric. In contrast, Anderson ranked in the top 4% with 1.35 completed dribbles.

They also get through a lot of defensive work. They’re really great at retrieving the ball and reading the play. Scott posted a whopping 12.18 defensive contributions per 90, while Anderson posted a whopping 13.93. Much of that work was done by winning back possession, with the former recording 6.14 recoveries per 90 minutes and Anderson 8.26.

Both have immense energy in the middle of the park and will no doubt provide more legs in the engine room than Casemiro has shown thus far.

Of course, Anderson is the better player at this point. He was named in England’s World Cup squad ahead of Scott, but the Bournemouth man is on the verge of making his Three Lions debut. He was part of America’s pre-tournament team.

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