Man City's £116m Elliot Anderson transfer exposes another issue with 115 charges verdict delay

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The official fee involved in Elliot Anderson’s move to Manchester City is £116million. What a shame.

It would have been nicely ironic if the figure was £115million. That, of course, is the not-so-magical number of Premier League charges against City that remain outstanding.

And every time the club does business - particularly business of this big-spending nature - the absurdity of the delay becomes starker. The acquisition of Anderson is a coup for City on a few levels. Considering he was part of a Nottingham Forest team that flirted with a relegation battle for long periods last season, the fee seems large enough.

But it seems there is a tax on defensive central midfielders. Sandro Tonali had an average season in an under-performing Newcastle United team yet is signing for Spurs for a fee that could rise to £100million. West Ham have pocketed £85million from Spurs for Matheus Fernandes, a nice enough player but one who has now been relegated with two different teams in consecutive seasons. He was not selected for Portugal’s World Cup squad.

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But it seems there is a tax on defensive central midfielders. Sandro Tonali had an average season in an under-performing Newcastle United team yet is signing for Spurs for a fee that could rise to £100million. West Ham have pocketed £85million from Spurs for Matheus Fernandes, a nice enough player but one who has now been relegated with two different teams in consecutive seasons. He was not selected for Portugal’s World Cup squad.

Anderson is developing into an accomplished player, that is for sure, but £116million is plenty. But it is still a significant move from City, not least because it shows attracting marquee talent will not be affected by Pep Guardiola’s departure.

City’s willingness to pay very large salaries will help, of course, but it was important that the first post-Pep signing was a big one. Life goes on without Guardiola.

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This is a show of faith in Enzo Maresca from Anderson and his advisers, who would have had plenty of options to choose from. The allure of Manchester United should never be underestimated and they would have taken Anderson had the 23-year-old wanted to go to Old Trafford.

So, why choose City instead? Yes, the financial package they were willing to hand out must have been more handsome than one he could have got at United. After all, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been wanting to get the wage bill down since day one of his part-ownership, hence the club’s keenness to get £325,000-a-week Marcus Rashford off the books.

But Anderson must also believe that, even in a future minus Pep, City have a squad that remains stronger and deeper than their local rivals and more likely to win trophies. And, crucially, you can only assume Anderson and his people must be utterly convinced that should the independent commission find City guilty of any of the charges, any possible punishments will not be draconian.

They must have asked about them, surely? Just as Erling Haaland must have asked before signing a deal that takes him to 2034, just as Maresca must have asked before agreeing to join. Presumably, the agents of the 27 players who have signed since the charges were laid in February of 2023 must have asked.

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Since the 12-week hearing into the charges was concluded in early December, 2024, City have spent well over £500million on new players.

Of course, City were always going to carry on as normal because they deny any wrongdoing whatsoever and are adamant they will be fully exonerated. So, they are quite right to behave as though nothing will change. And that means buying top players such as Anderson. But you can’t help feeling those players would not be arriving if they felt there was a possibility of serious sanctions being imposed on the club.

That, though, remains speculation because the wait for the verdicts goes on and on and on. And every trophy they win, every big signing they make, shines a spotlight on the absurdity of that wait.