Ex-Man City adviser: Nottingham Forest could make £90m profit should big-money sale be agreed

Elliot Anderson’s anticipated move to Manchester City could see Nottingham Forest make a £90million player-trading profit.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider Forest need to sell players to provide them with more flexibility this summer.

Anderson has been heavily linked with a move to Man City in recent months following his impressive performances this season.

The England international helped Vitor Pereira’s side reach the Europa League semi-finals before being knocked out by Aston Villa.

While Forest generated reasonable prize money from the competition, they will be down on Premier League payments due to their disappointing performances domestically.

💰 Nottingham Forest Finance Update 💰

Inside the transfer budget, player wages, Evangelos Marinakis’ investment, and PSR developments at the City Ground.

Forest value Anderson at around £100m following the interest from Man City and some of their other Premier League rivals.

The 23-year-old moved to the City Ground in a £35m deal from Newcastle United in the summer of 2024.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed how much flexibility Forest have to improve their squad this summer.

“I don’t think they’ve got huge flexibility without selling, but I do think they’ll sell,” said Borson.

“They’ve got actually a pretty expensive side and the likelihood is that they will be in a settlement agreement with Uefa as well. Now, it won’t be an immediate problem because they aren’t going to qualify this year, we know that, so they’re not going to be in European competition next season.

“I guess theoretically it’s not impossible that they do some sort of deal that pushes the problem out quite a way. It’s probably a good development for Manchester City in terms of their ability to negotiate a more palatable price for Anderson.

“If that deal happens as we expect it to, it could be £80-90m of player-trading profit on that one signing alone. That makes a huge difference to what Forest can do.”

Borson insisted Forest will face issues strengthening Pereira’s side without offloading some of their stars this summer.

“If they don’t sell, then making improvements to their squad without sales would be very challenging,” said Borson.

“They’ll be bedding in this summer because this season without the Europa League success, it’s going to look okay, but most of the money that they’ve generated from being in the Europa League will end up being lost by falling down the league.

Full-time. pic.twitter.com/8RSlpkUFQT

“Let’s say they’re seven places lower than they were last season. That’s got a cost of about £22-23m.

“It’s pretty close to what they’ve generated through the door from reaching the Europa League semi-final, so it’s not going to uplift them significantly.”

Don’t Miss a Beat: Your Nottingham Forest Insider Access

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of the City Ground.