Eight Man Utd players Sir Jim Ratcliffe was 'willing to offload' to sign £100m Man City star

· Mirror

Manchester United bosses were willing to offload eight players to sign a Manchester City midfielder, who they'll face in the Premier League on Sunday

Manchester United were willing to shift eight first-team players to finance a move for Elliot Anderson. But the £116million man left Nottingham Forest for Manchester City in the summer and he'll play against United in the Manchester Derby on Sunday.

Michael Carrick's midfield was transformed this summer. The arrivals of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans for a combined £85m added experience and promise but in August, long-term target Carlos Baleba was recruited in a deal that could reach £70m.

However, Baleba wasn't the only big-money midfielder United were after over the summer. Ex-Forest star Anderson was in demand after a groundbreaking previous Premier League campaign and stellar World Cup for England. His price tag was set at over £100m and United were interested.

So much so that Jim Ratcliffe and Co. were reportedly keen on offloading as many as eight first-team players to enable the move. Alas, City flexed their financial muscles and snapped him up for £116m. Now, United will have salt rubbed into their wounds when Anderson lines up against them at Old Trafford on Sunday.

In April, The Sun reported that United were willing to go all-in for Anderson and in order to complete the move, would be open to eight players leaving. Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Andre Onana and Marcus Rashford were all placed on the reported chopping block. But only one of these five has been sold.

Hojlund, who United paid Atalanta £64m for, spent last season on loan at Napoli and they opted to make his move permanent this summer by activating a £38m buy option.

Like Hojlund, Andre Onana was shipped out on loan for 2025/26. He joined Trabzonspor, but the goalkeeper will spend this season on loan in Turkey with the same club, which paid a £1.3m loan fee.

Of the remaining three, none have departed. Ugarte was widely expected to be sold, but a serious knee injury he sustained at the World Cup while playing for Uruguay derailed things. Zirkzee also sought an exit this summer, with Italian clubs like Juventus and Roma reportedly interested. But despite some deadline-day links to Everton, a transfer never materialised.

Rashford was further the subject of much transfer speculation. Yet Barcelona, with whom he spent last season on loan, opted not to activate his £26m purchase option and he couldn't find another suitor. He is now wearing the No. 9 shirt at Old Trafford, back in Carrick's first-team plans.

The list of eight stars United looked to be rid of was completed by three players whose contracts were winding down. Getting their wages off the books would, in theory, have helped finance the Anderson move.

Casemiro announced his summer exit in January and let his deal wind down before signing for MLS side Inter Miami. Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho are now free agents after leaving United. So, of the eight, United have sold one, loaned out another, let three leave for free and retained three. These exits generated less than £40m of transfer fees.

In the end, although Anderson was at the top of their wishlist, they never submitted a bid. As soon as City, who initially lodged a £106m offer, pushed the sum above £100m, United were out - understandably so when considering the lack of funding they had generated from the eight players mentioned.

Not even a golf-course encounter with Ryan Giggs could turn the tables and City got their man for £116m in July. He has looked composed in the middle of the park in his five appearances for City so far.

Anderson's sixth outing will come at the historic home of United, when he goes blow for blow with his side's bitter rivals, who were desperate to secure his services in the summer, but failed.

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