Elliot Anderson may have cost Manchester City considerable months before they agreed to make him the most expensive British footballer ever. When he last played at the Etihad Stadium in March, he fired in from 25 yards. A clean, accurate shot earned Nottingham Forest an unexpected point. Perhaps City wouldn't have won the title anyway, but losing two points gave them less room to maneuver in the final race.
Now, Anderson forms a £116m statement of intent in City's quest to reclaim their crown and begin Enzo Maresca's reign as the Premier League's biggest force. The World Cup illustrated some of the reasons for his acquisition, beyond simply securing one of Manchester United's transfer targets. Anderson possesses the passing ability that spans short and long distances, the athleticism to cover ground and the ability to operate as both a No 6 and a No 8. In a competition in which few English players other than Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham stood out, he was one of them.
However, although the value is in line with the current midfield market, it is still surprising. City are big spenders in one sense, but not in another. His purchase from previous club Jack Grealish for £100 million, which was actually not well spent, was an exception. Most of the high-profile deals during Pep Guardiola's decade in charge were between £30m and £65m. Rayan Cherki, last season, was near the bottom of that scale, even though Erling Haaland didn't reach the top.
Guardiola's preferred axis in his last season consisted of two of his biggest acquisitions, Rodri and Bernardo Silva. Their combined cost was less than Anderson's, even though the Spaniard was a club record purchase when he joined. Anderson is a milestone in history, but he may not be alone. There will be at least five £100m midfielders in the Premier League next season unless Enzo Fernandez gets what he wants: a move to Real Madrid. Sandro Tonali is on his way to Tottenham for £100m, Fernandez and Moises Caicedo had a combined cost that rose to £222m for Chelsea and Arsenal had to fork out £105m for Declan Rice, who is now one of two £100m midfielders in Thomas Tuchel's midfield.
The chorus from Gunners fans has been that "we got him for half the price". And if that is not true, it is nevertheless the case that, so far, only Rice of the middleweights who have arrived at a revolutionary cost has been successful. The driving force in Arsenal's first Premier League win in 22 years, a man who took them to a Champions League final, a talisman and a great all-rounder, Rice was a game-changing purchase. Caicedo and Fernandez? Not so much. The Ecuadorian has been, unquestionably, the best signing. The Argentine scored 15 goals last season. It was still a horrible year for Chelsea, who only had one decent season and no title challenges in the four seasons that Fernandez was present.
One argument for spending big on midfielders is that they can influence every element of the game and make a team work. However, it is not supported by the case studies. Mateus Fernandes, relegated in consecutive seasons, went to Tottenham for £85 million. The Portuguese played well first for Southampton and then for West Ham; the teams still achieved poor results. Fernandes played 72 Premier League games, scored five goals and made eight assists. Which, again, forms a trend. The massive numbers surround the cost of the new generation of midfielders, not their goal returns. Five of Fernandez's goals last year were from penalties, just 10 in the Premier League.
After Anderson's magnificent effort against City, a former Forest player from a previous generation reflected that he really should score more. He's still not the complete package. This raises the question of how much his predecessors, players like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, would be worth today. The theory might be that to build an elite team now, there is a need for pressure-resistant passers who can follow tactical instructions. They still need someone to put the ball in the net and the evolution away from goal-scoring box-to-box midfielders means the duties tend to fall to forwards, wingers or No 10s. None of these factors prevented the midsize market from inflating faster than others.
Tonali's move to Spurs is notable: Serie A clubs like the Italian international, but they cannot compete with the financial strength of Tottenham, who have just finished in 17th place. Makes it harder to go to Italy: Inter's £21m bid for Curtis Jones was turned down by Liverpool, conscious of Premier League prices and wanting twice as much. These rising prices can affect just about everyone. United are getting Ederson from Atalanta relatively cheaply, around £35m; however, after losing Anderson and Fernandez, they face a heavy bill to rebuild the rest of their midfield. There could be a correction in the market, but it seems unlikely.
Almost half a century ago, Anderson's predecessor was Steve Daley, who left a Midlands club – Wolves, in this case – for City for a British record fee of £1.437 million. It was soon recognized as a crazy rate; prices went down. That didn't happen in the most recent middleweight gold rush. Chelsea distorted the price range by going so high for first Fernandez and then Caicedo, overpaying for each but setting a new benchmark. Now, any selling club can ask for a nine-figure sum. Newcastle and Forest are getting them. Perhaps Bournemouth and Crystal Palace will do so when Alex Scott and Adam Wharton leave. You can thank Chelsea, but once again, football has reason to blame Todd Boehly.