Ryan Giggs urged 'outstanding' England World Cup star to join Manchester United

Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs (Picture: Getty)

Ryan Giggs ‘tried to persuade’ England World Cup star Elliot Anderson to join Manchester United before his £116m move to Manchester City .

Anderson signed a five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium last month after Man City briefly made him the most expensive British player in history.

Manchester United were interested in beating their local rivals to a deal but pulled out of the race once Nottingham Forest ’s demands went above £100m.

Anderson became arguably Forest’s most important player following his £35m move from Newcastle United, helping the club finish seventh in the Premier League and qualify for Europe.

The 23-year-old was an integral member of Thomas Tuchel ’s World Cup squad, featuring in all of England’s games as they reached the semi-finals before a heartbreaking defeat to Argentina .

Ex-Manchester United defender Phil Bardsley has revealed he and club legend Giggs bumped into Anderson earlier in the summer and tried to ‘persuade’ him to move to Old Trafford.

After pulling out of the race to sign Anderson, Michael Carrick welcomed two new midfielders to Manchester – bringing in Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa.

England World Cup star Elliot Anderson (Picture: Getty)

‘Signing Youri Tielemans for £35m is a great bit of business,’ Bardsley told Casinolyze . ‘I think Manchester City and Tottenham certainly overpaid for Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali.

‘I knew it was getting to a stage with Elliot Anderson where he’d be £100m plus and I just didn’t feel comfortable about going to that sort of price for him as a player.

‘Listen, he’s outstanding. I really like him.  I was in Portugal earlier in the summer playing golf with Ryan Giggs and we saw Anderson on the golf course and had a chat with him to try and persuade him to join United.

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‘He was still unsure what he wanted to do but north of £100m for a defensive midfielder like him? If I’m spending that money, I want a player who will add 30-40 goals to my team a season.

‘That’s what I’m looking for at that fee. That’s value for money. Compare that sum to what United have paid for Tielemans and it’s a steal.

‘He’s a proven Premier League player, he’s captain of Belgium, he can deliver and he’s won trophies. He won the Europa League with Aston Villa last season.

Manchester United summer signing Youri Tielemans (Picture: Getty)

‘He brings an element of calm and real class on the ball too but he’s also not afraid to get stuck into the ugly side of the game too so I think he’s a really good signing, even leaving aside the price but I’ve been really impressed with the deal.’

Manchester City have been the dominant team in English football over the past decade but said goodbye to legendary manager Pep Guardiola at the end of last season, with ex-Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca taking over at the Etihad Stadium .

Following his huge move to Man City, Anderson said: ‘As soon as I knew [City] wanted me, I was absolutely determined to make this move happen.

‘You want to test yourself at the highest level. Being at City means I have that opportunity.

‘As soon as I arrive in Manchester after a break, I will be doing everything I can to establish myself in the City team.

‘They’re winners, they’re relentless, and that’s the sort of team I want to be a part of – champions and people who win trophies. Over the last 10, 12 years, they’ve dominated, so that’s why I wanted to join.’

Man City face Arsenal in the Community Shield next weekend before their Premier League opener at home to Bournemouth.