Manchester United Incar Elliot Anderson untuk Gantikan Casemiro

Manchester United menjadikan gelandang Nottingham Forest, Elliot Anderson, sebagai prioritas transfer utama pada musim panas 2026 untuk memperkuat lini tengah menjelang kepergian Casemiro.

Pemain berusia 23 tahun tersebut dinilai sebagai pengganti ideal bagi Casemiro yang akan meninggalkan Old Trafford setelah kontraknya habis pada musim panas ini. Namun, langkah Setan Merah diprediksi tidak mudah karena Manchester City juga dilaporkan berminat memburu tanda tangan sang gelandang.

Nilai transfer Anderson diperkirakan mencapai lebih dari 100 juta poundsterling. Pengamat sepak bola senior, Ben Jacobs, menyatakan bahwa pembicaraan antar-klub kini dapat dimulai setelah Nottingham Forest memastikan diri bertahan di Liga Primer Inggris dan tersingkir dari Liga Europa.

"Manchester United will start now to find out the price, because the thing that's moved with Elliot Anderson is the ability to go to Nottingham Forest, which wasn't the case when they were still in Europe or before they had secured their Premier League safety." ujar Ben Jacobs, Koresponden Senior Sepak Bola.

Jacobs menambahkan bahwa momentum saat ini sangat tepat bagi klub-klub peminat untuk mendekati Nottingham Forest, meskipun sang pemain tidak mendesak untuk pindah sebelum Piala Dunia.

"So although Elliot Anderson is not agitating or desperate to have a new club before the World Cup, now is the right time to go to Nottingham Forest." kata Ben Jacobs.

Pendekatan resmi diperkirakan segera berjalan mengingat Anderson menduduki daftar teratas buruan dua klub raksasa Manchester tersebut.

"I think Manchester United and Manchester City will both go to Nottingham Forest to understand the price. Now is the right time." ucap Ben Jacobs.

Menurut laporan GiveMeSport, negosiasi ini juga dipengaruhi oleh kepastian posisi manajer permanen baru Manchester United, di mana Michael Carrick dilaporkan sepakat melanjutkan jabatan sebagai kepala pelatih dengan tawaran kontrak dua tahun.

"The expectation of course is that club-to-club talks will begin because Elliott Anderson is the top midfield target for Man City and he's the top midfield target for Manchester United." kata Ben Jacobs.

Di sisi lain, pemilik Nottingham Forest, Evangelos Marinakis, dilaporkan berniat mempertahankan para pemain kunci mereka. Jurnalis The Athletic, David Ornstein, memberikan pembaruan mengenai sikap keras dari pihak Forest terkait rumor transfer ini.

"Nottingham Forest intend to keep hold of all of their key players this summer as things stand, we'll have to see how that develops." tutur David Ornstein, Jurnalis The Athletic.

Jika kesepakatan untuk Anderson gagal terwujud, Manchester United telah menyiapkan opsi alternatif seperti Carlos Baleba, Aurelien Tchouameni, dan Sandro Tonali.

Sementara itu, dalam konferensi pers menjelang pertandingan melawan Nottingham Forest di Old Trafford, manajer interim Manchester United, Michael Carrick, memberikan pandangannya mengenai peluang para pemain muda seperti Shea Lacey untuk tampil di sisa musim.

"100%, it’s something we would love to happen, and I’m not talking about just Shea, but I think in terms of getting younger players involved. And listen, they’re heavily involved in and around the group, they have been all the time anyway, but the fact that the game is tomorrow night for them, they’ll be heavily involved in that and I think they should be." kata Michael Carrick, Manajer Interim Manchester United.

Carrick menekankan pentingnya menjaga keseimbangan skuad demi meraih hasil maksimal di akhir kompetisi.

"And then obviously of course the week after leading to the Brighton game then we'll reassess as well, but it’s important we finish strong as well so we’ve got responsibilities to do that as well. So we’ve got the balance right but it’s a massive part for me and for this football club is to try and bring the younger players on and give them opportunities to see what they can do, yeah for sure." ujar Michael Carrick.

Ketika ditanya mengenai performa Elliot Anderson bersama Nottingham Forest sepanjang musim ini, Carrick memberikan pujian tinggi kepada gelandang tersebut.

"Yeah, he’s done well," balas Michael Carrick.

Mantan gelandang timnas Inggris tersebut menilai Anderson memiliki peran krusial dalam membawa Forest tampil impresif hingga menembus babak semifinal sebuah kompetisi.

"I think he’s a big part of their [Forest’s] team. I think he offers so much. I think they’ve got a really talented team and a dangerous team, so they’ve had a good season to get to the semi-finals and just fall short. But yeah, you can see obviously he’s an important part of their team." kata Michael Carrick.

Carrick juga menanggapi situasi kontrak beberapa pemain senior, termasuk Tyrell Malacia yang masa baktinya segera berakhir.

"Yes and no. I think it always gets to this stage of the season where there’s a few uncertainties. I think whatever the situation, however you finish the season or whatever. I think there’s always a case of contracts or individual kind of agendas, if you like, or roles and situations." tutur Michael Carrick.

Ia menegaskan fokus utama tim adalah menyelesaikan musim dengan kebanggaan tinggi, terutama saat bermain di laga kandang.

"But all I can say is we want to finish the season strong. I think we’ve put ourselves in a good position. We’ve achieved something to a point. But yeah, we want to finish, especially at home, but home and away, you know, it doesn’t matter. But we feel that responsibility and pride in ourselves and for the football club that we want to finish strong. So we put a team out to do that." ucap Michael Carrick.

Mengenai atmosfer ruang ganti Manchester United yang dinilai kondusif tanpa adanya benturan ego antar-pemain, Carrick menjelaskan sudut pandangnya tentang pengelolaan ego di level sepak bola tertinggi.

"Ego is a funny one actually because I think to perform at the top, top level you’ve got to have some sort of ego. And that can be used in all sorts of different ways, so it’s how you use it really is the key thing and I think it’s a part of me of learning and being here and seeing others, better players than me, dealing with that and being and sacrificing themselves for the team." terang Michael Carrick.

Carrick menutup penjelasannya dengan menekankan bahwa ego yang diarahkan secara positif untuk kepentingan klub dapat memicu kebersamaan yang kuat.

"Putting the ego from yourself into the team is important and you’ve got to have something to fight for and be attached to really. So I hope I’m making sense when I say that it doesn’t have to be an ego where it’s an individual thing or it’s a negative in any way. I think it’s essentially, it’s a pride. It’s a pride in yourself and what you’re kind of working towards, you know, and I think all our egos, which we’ve got in different ways, and I think it’s clear to see the spirit and the connection and the camaraderie that everyone’s pulling in one direction to put their ego into the football club can be quite powerful and we’ve got to use that." kata Michael Carrick.