According to multiple reports, the brilliant 23-year-old midfielder's current employers, Nottingham Forest, have reached an agreement with Manchester City for Anderson to sign in a British record deal for £130m (including add-ons), though some reports suggest a fee nearer £116m.
Either way, that represents a huge profit for Forest, who signed the player for £35m from Newcastle United back in 2024.
It's now expected that Anderson will undergo a medical in the US, which is hardly the best preparation for England's next group game against Panama, but the midfielder doesn't seem fazed.
"It's pretty easy, really, I'm just focusing on the present, I'm blocking it all out," he recently told reporters.
"I've got a plan, and it's to perform for England. I'm putting myself in the best position to cross the line and do that."
Easy to see why Man City want Anderson
Thomas Tuchel will be delighted to hear it, as Anderson is fast becoming one of the Three Lions' most important players.
It's easy to understand why City would want to sign him, too.
Ostensibly seen as the replacement for Bernardo Silva, though Anderson is a completely different type of player, his skill set alongside Rodri - assuming the Spaniard doesn't join Silva at Real Madrid, as has been rumoured - will ensure that City's midfield will prove to be one of the toughest to get through in the Premier League.
Both Anderson and Rodri like to get forward, and both are brilliant in the defensive aspects of the game too.
Last season for Forest, the England man played in every league game for the club, and made 50 appearances across all competitions, 45 of them as a starter.
A cumulative 4,166 minutes played was evidence enough of his importance to the side in their attempt to avoid the drop into the Championship, with only Neco Williams and Nikola Milenkovic enjoying more minutes on the pitch.
Passing excellence
With 3,021 passes attempted, Anderson was streets ahead of any other player in 2025/26, and when one considers that Milenkovic's total of 2,118 was the closest to his, it gives some perspective on the former's industry and willingness to make things happen.
Rodri was Man City's third busiest exponent in terms of total passes, but he couldn't compete with Anderson, managing a meagre total of 2,421 by comparison.
Even Silva's 2,632 was some way off the Forest man, though both City aces had a higher completion percentage - 90.67% and 90.54% respectively.
2,599 passes completed gave Anderson a more than acceptable 86.03% pass completion stat, and whilst Ibrahim Sangare was one to surpass that (87.37%), it has to be borne in mind that the latter's total passes were only just over half of those which Anderson attempted (1,552).
Fabulous all-round stats
95 crosses attempted once the 23-year-old got forward came with a success rate of 27.37%, the best return in the Forest squad, whilst his 110 corners taken, by far the most in the team, saw the midfielder post a 25.91% accuracy, again the best of any Tricky Trees player.
It also won't surprise anyone that Anderson's 676 one-on-one duels attempted was another best-in-class showing, and his 55.47% success was bettered only by Milenkovic (65.54%), who had attempted less than half of his colleagues' total duels (296).
377 ball recoveries were embarrassingly well ahead of anyone else in the Forest squad, and despite only being 5 ft 10 inches tall, he still managed to attempt 126 headed duels (winning 74), making him one of only five players to break the century mark in this regard.
A tackle success rate of 59.84 was laudable, despite being at the lower end in squad terms; however, Anderson's 127 tackles attempted were only slightly bettered by Neco Williams' 135. The nearest player to them in terms of attempted tackles was Sangare's 85, more than 40 behind the pair.
53 interceptions were again only behind Williams, whilst four goals and five assists saw Anderson as the squad's fifth-best in terms of goal contributions.
Figures that really do speak of a player who can do it all.
£130m could be seen as a bargain in due course
Whilst Silva was dogged and determined for City, and supplemented this with the silky skills that remain the one thing which Anderson doesn't really possess, the Portuguese's all-round game can't really be compared to that of his contemporary.
In a team such as City, where every player, whether a starter or a sub, is of the highest quality, Anderson will only get better and better.
He's still around four to five years away from his supposed peak, too, so for anyone wondering whether he's likely to be worth the spend, they already have their answer.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
