Manchester United are ready to join the race to sign Elliot Anderson.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Anderson has become a hot property after his stunning breakthrough into the England team. Manchester City and Chelsea have also been watching developments with the midfielder who only turns 23 next month and is seen as one of English football’s best prospects.

That has also alerted United who do want to rebuild their midfield as their next priority and they have also looked at Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and also Crystal Palace’s England prospect Adam Wharton. But United are also big admirers of Anderson who only made his England debut in September but has now won four senior caps and is seen as a strong possibility to start in next year’s World Cup.

Anderson was sold by Newcastle for £35million last year but it was regarded as a massive blow and something they had to do to balance the books and fall into line with Profit and Sustainability Rules. His progress since then has been eye-catching both as a defensive midfielder and a player who can make forward runs.

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Forest would clearly be determined to keep a prize asset and would not want to sell despite the growing interest in Anderson, who is now valued at around £75m.

City have been eyeing reinforcements for their midfield as Rodri has struggled to come back to full fitness. Chelsea have also bought well when it comes to young English talent but they are well stocked in that department.

United bought big in the summer with their forward line and splashed in excess of £200m on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. But a late move in the summer window for Baleba was resisted by Brighton and yet showed that United are in the market for a shake-up.

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They want to have a better balance in midfield and may look to get in two new players with Bruno Fernandes attracting interest while Casemiro is out of contract this summer.

Anderson is under contract with Forest until June 2029 and will command a hefty fee. He is a key player for the team, having played the full match in all 10 of Forest's Premier League and Europa League matches this season.

United contacted Brighton over the availability of Baleba in the summer transfer window, but the move went nowhere, with the Seagulls sticking to their transfer valuation.

"I don't think Baleba was a saga," Brighton owner Tony Bloom told The Argus recently. "There was interest from Manchester United, and we said that he wasn't available this summer and they went away. So we've had many bigger sagas in the past.

"But Carlos Baleba, his improvement has been immense. Massively important player to this football club, and just delighted that he's with us for this season."

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