Former England defender Danny Mills has urged caution over Manchester City's club record £116 million signing of Elliot Anderson, drawing direct comparisons to the ill-fated Kalvin Phillips move.
Speaking to Snabbare, Mills acknowledged the quality of the Nottingham Forest midfielder but warned that the size of the fee guarantees nothing about how a signing will work out.
"I think a player is worth whatever someone will pay for him. That's effectively what it comes down to, so the fee for Elliot Anderson is almost irrelevant in that sense. It doesn't make a huge difference," Mills said.
The former Leeds and England right-back's assessment deliberately contrasts with the wave of enthusiasm that has greeted Anderson's arrival at the Etihad. The £116 million outlay, Mills suggested, invites questions about what role Anderson will actually fill within Enzo Maresca's side.
"He's not particularly going to score goals or assist. Is he the replacement for Rodri? When you think of the past, they had Fernandinho, then Rodri, Nigel de Jong before that. That midfield player role is absolutely crucial for the stability of the side," Mills said.
Mills was careful to qualify his scepticism with praise for Anderson's ability before introducing the comparison that will sting most for City supporters.
"But he's a very good player. You do have to be cautious because the Kalvin Phillips example will always be thrown at you. Kalvin was England's best player during the (2021) Euros and took the big-money move to Manchester City, but it didn't work out," the pundit said.
Mills acknowledged the differences between the two players — Anderson has been more established at club level than Phillips was — but insisted the underlying risk remains.
"He maybe wasn't as stable or regular as Anderson has been at club level. There's always the chance that a player doesn't settle or it doesn't quite work out."
The broader context of Pep Guardiola's departure also feeds into Mills's caution. Anderson will not be walking into a Guardiola system.
"He's also not going into a Pep Guardiola team, it's Enzo Maresca now. That's a different way of playing and a different style of football. We have to wait and see how he picks his team. We need to see how that team evolves over the next few months."
Perhaps the most significant implication of Mills's assessment concerns Rodri. The suggestion that a £116 million outlay on a midfielder signals awareness within the club that their Ballon d'Or winner's future is not as settled as public communications have implied will not be lost on supporters watching the summer's events unfold.
"You have to assume Rodri might be leaving if Anderson is coming in for that money," Mills said.
Whether Anderson silences the doubts by delivering the kind of consistent, Rodri-esque influence his fee demands, or whether Mills's caution ultimately proves more prescient than the enthusiasm surrounding the signing, will only become clear once Maresca's first competitive season gets underway.