Exactly what Bruno Fernandes said to Elliot Anderson when this humdinger of a clash was brought to an end will remain shrouded in mystery.
The Manchester United captain embraced Nottingham Forest’s No 8 and had a few words extra for Anderson than he did for the other Forest players as both sides exchanged pleasantries.
Making the pitch of all pitches to recruit him to Manchester United next season? Maybe. Club officials know they need all the help they can get.
It is the worst kept secret in football that Anderson is United’s No 1 target for this summer’s pivotal midfield overhaul.
And on a day where United pulled out all the stops for Casemiro’s farewell, Anderson delivered his own show-stopper to reinforce just why United cannot afford to miss out on him this summer.
United are in the market for at least two midfielders, in an ideal world they add three new faces with Manuel Ugarte also set to join Casemiro in departing. At the the very top of the wish list is Anderson, a player many at United believe could anchor their midfield for a decade-plus.
Elliot Anderson is Manchester United’s No 1 target for the summer – and Bruno Fernandes may have tried to convince him to join
Manchester City are the frontrunners – even United insiders concede that – right now, while Bayern Munich are keeping tabs. Therein lies the issue. Competition is fierce.
But if Manchester United truly believe Anderson is the guy, the player that elevates this side from a top four outfit to one than can mix it with the title challengers in the years to come, missing out isn’t an option.
Yes, budgets are important, especially to Ineos. United need multiple recruits this summer and how much of their budget can they afford to allocate to one man?
But, ultimately, winning costs. The best players cost. Players at the peak of their powers rarely ever walk through the door on the cheap. This outing showed just why United must do what you have to do to get him alongside Fernandes and Co next season.
‘He has the talent to be the top of the top,’ Forest boss Vitor Pereira mused after Anderson’s two-assist performance.
‘He can score more goals, take a bit more risk in the last third. He has a very good shot.
‘It depends on the system (how well he does). If we give him freedom to build the play, he can do everything.
‘He has a lot of talent and he will fly with big wings.’
United believe Anderson is the player who can elevate them from Champions League contenders to title challengers
United missed out on Jude Bellingham in 2020 after he got a private tour of Carrington at the age of 16. They missed out, too, when Declan Rice hit the market while at West Ham, some then baulking at a fee north of £100million for a defensive midfielder.
‘For me, I wouldn’t be spending £110m or £120m on Rice if I was Manchester United this summer,’ Gary Neville said in 2023. ‘I would spend £50m-£60m on Declan Rice, but I wouldn’t spend the figures being reported.’ How that aged.
For Bellingham, United pulled out all the stops, introducing him and his family to Sir Alex Ferguson, Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, boss at the time Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and executive Ed Woodward. He ended up choosing Borussia Dortmund instead and the rest was history.
Rice is on the cusp of lifting the Premier League title and is into a Champions League final. Nobody is questioning the £105m Arsenal paid for him now.
Anderson was immense here, the perfect audition for a suitor that has long been smitten with what the ‘Geordie Maradona’ can do.
In moments he looked like a young Steven Gerrard. In others there were flashes of Frank Lampard at his best. The star quality – and his ceiling when around even better players – was obvious.
He ran the game with the most touches (106), made the joint-most dribbles and made more defensive contributions than any other player across the two sides.
No player has won possession more in the Premier League this season than Anderson. No player in Forest colours have created more chances than the former Newcastle United man.
Anderson tops a number of stats tables this season and is set to ‘fly with the big wigs’, according to manager Vitor Pereira
His two assists – the first for Morato, and second for Morgan Gibbs-White – capped off a performance that was exactly what United are crying out for as Casemiro prepares to walk out the door.
When he whipped in another superb cross from the right in the 88th minute with Forest chasing an equaliser down 3-2, he picked out Neco Williams out the far post when the finish was the only thing missing.
United need an enforcer, a playmaker, a passer, a disruptor, the works. They need a bonafide midfield superstar that is ascending in their career. They are hard to find. It is why Anderson is worth his weight in gold.
Like Rice and Bellingham, Anderson does it all. At the World Cup this summer it could be those three that the rest of Thomas Tuchel’s team is built around. All three can on any given day be the best player on the pitch. It’s an exclusive table these sorts of players dine at.
So, it is imperative that United do not miss out on yet another generational English midfielder. Do so and they’ll be left to rue yet another one that got away.