Phil Bardsley has revealed that he and Ryan Giggs tried to convince Elliot Anderson to join Manchester United from Nottingham Forest in the summer transfer window before he moved to Manchester City.

Man Utd were keen on signing Anderson in the summer of 2026.

However, the Red Devils’ co-owners, INEOS, though, did not want to pay Forest’s asking price for the England international midfielder.

Anderson eventually joined Man City from Forest for £116million.

Man Utd signed Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba from Chelsea, Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion, respectively, in the summer transfer window.

Former Man Utd full-back Bardsley has revealed that both he and Red Devils legend Ryan Giggs tried to convince Anderson to pick Old Trafford over the Etihad Stadium.

The pundit has now wondered whether Anderson regrets moving to Man City after the Cityzens were found guilty of FFP breaches.

Ryan Giggs failed in Elliot Anderson to Man Utd endeavour

Bardsley told Compare.bet: “Man City players who could join Man Utd?

“Ryan Giggs and I tried to convince Elliot Anderson to join Man Utd over the summer on the golf course in Portugal.

“He was behind us, so we kept stalling our golf buggy to spend five minutes with him!

“He had mixed thoughts on the pros and cons of both clubs.

“In hindsight, looking back now at all the nonsense going on with the blue half of Manchester, I’m sure he’d have chosen United.

“But if a legend like Ryan Giggs can’t convince you to come to Man United, then his decision was already made.

“You’d probably look at him again, he would have been a perfect fit and was likely on Michael’s hit list.

“I’m not sure Haaland would come to us. That boy can go anywhere he wants.

“But Marc Guehi would be a good target, and then it depends on the academy graduates.

“Phil Foden is world class for me, and Nico O’Reilly is another.

“They’ve got bundles of players, but if City find themselves in the Championship, League One, or League Two, I’m not sure if they’ll be able to afford those salaries, and if they do, a lot of questions will be asked again.”

Man Utd told to keep faith in Michael Carrick

Bardsley has also said that Man Utd co-owners INEOS should back Michael Carrick as the manager.

The pundit noted: “I don’t think Michael Carrick is under pressure. He’s earned the right from last year and what he achieved.

“I know there were murmurs about people not being happy with his appointment, but Michael did brilliantly.

“He brings a wealth of knowledge, his understanding of the game is fantastic, and he’s a brilliant coach.

“He had a good spell at Boro, and like I say, what he did last year to get us where we needed to be was great, because it was abysmal before he came in.

“It’s just disappointing the way we’ve started this year. It looks like taking Casemiro out of the middle of the team has caused us to implode.

“It goes to show how important he was over those last six months, what he gave us on the pitch and from set pieces.

“I imagine he was a big influence in the dressing room as well. It’s a huge loss.

“I believe in Michael and I trust him. Obviously he’s a friend, but more importantly, I believe he’s a high-level coach and the right person to take us forward.

“He’ll be frustrated himself, you’ve seen it in his interviews. It hurts.

“He’s been involved at Man United for such a long time, and when you’re not winning games, it hurts you. But he and the players are the ones who can put it right.”