Ilkay Gündogan has said that Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Elliot Anderson will “make a great addition” to the Manchester City squad.
City have reached an agreement with Forest to sign the midfielder for a fixed fee of £116 million ($153m), sources told ESPN on Thursday.
Speaking to ESPN, Gündogan was asked whether he thought Anderson would be a perfect signing for his former club.
“I think so,” the Galatasaray midfielder said. “I think he has proven that, especially last season with Nottingham [Forest]. He played an incredible season. He had some outstanding performances, also against City.
“I think he had quite an impressive development over the years, and I’m quite sure that he will make a great addition to the City squad.”
Anderson has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League since his move from Newcastle in 2024.
In 2025-26, he led the league for outfielders in touches (3,300), duels won (297), fouls won (80) and possessions won (306).
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Asked if he was the big name signing City needed in the post-Pep Guardiola era, Gündogan replied: “I wouldn’t say he’s the big name. I mean, obviously he is someone that everyone knows. But I don’t think that they are signing him as a superstar, they are signing him as a team player.
“He’s expensive, yes, but this is the Premier League. This is where the best play, so it’s quite normal now. These sums are still maybe huge, or sound huge, but it’s now the market, isn’t it? So people pay it, and they have to pay it for a certain quality.
“I’m quite sure that the people in Manchester will be very happy, because when you watch him play, you feel like it’s someone who sacrifices everything for the team, and that’s what you want to have as a teammate.”
