Nottinghamshire

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Elliot Anderson insists he remains focused on his form and Nottingham Forest amid links to Manchester City and Manchester United.

The England midfielder has been Forest's standout performer this season as they battle relegation from the Premier League.

Anderson is preparing to face Fenerbahce in the Europa League play-off as Forest aim to reach the last 16, holding a 3-0 lead from last week's first leg in Turkey.

"I'm just focusing on my football at the moment, performing and trying to give everything for Nottingham Forest. So that's all that's on my mind," said Anderson.

The 23-year-old is contracted to the City Ground until 2029 after joining from Newcastle in 2024.

The Manchester clubs are also reportedly monitoring Forest and England team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White.

Forest's captain almost joined Tottenham last summer, with Forest threatening legal action against Spurs, before signing a new deal until 2028.

BBC Sport has been told it does include a release clause, but boss Vitor Pereira believes the 26-year-old remains committed.

"I'm not hearing this. Every day is work. I feel they are very committed to our target, which is the most important thing," he said.

"He is a top player, the captain, the top player with the true spirit. That's why I accepted the job, because I have very good players.

"We need to prove every day in the work and we need to prove on the pitch, in the games, that we don't have just the talent in the team, but we create a strong team together."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League play-off second leg against Fenerbahce at the City Ground (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Pereira confirmed the squad will be the same as the one that travelled to Turkey for the first leg. Giving an update on injured players, he also confirmed goalkeeper Matz Sels will return to training on Monday, while Nicolo Savona is having tests to understand the extent of his injury and they still "need to wait" on Chris Wood.

• With a 3-0 lead coming into this match, the Forest boss said the "worst mistake that we can commit" is to think Thursday will be "an easy game", adding: "We need to approach this game with the right mentality to play in front of our supporters. It is a big chance to please them because they deserve it. They helped us a lot in the last game and they deserve a win."

• He said "of course" he will make changes as he wants to "see the players with the chance to play proving themselves", but cautioned: "We face a strong team and we cannot risk losing the balance."

• On what he has made of the group of players he is working with: "[We are] trying to give them confidence. We have talent, we have a true spirit. They are open to listening, and this is the way to create a strong team, a strong identity. Believe in ourselves, believe in the work that we are doing. It's a short time, but I want a team that believes in themselves and this is what we are trying to create. This mentality."

• On how they can bring European form into the Premier League: "This is a different competition and we have our ambition in this competition. Today is about tomorrow. We are talking about tomorrow. We start zero and we need to score goals. We need to not concede goals. What I want to see tomorrow is my team increasing their level."

• Having previous experience coming to manage teams in a similar position to Forest, Pereira insisted it is "impossible in the middle of the season to come and to change a lot of things" - however, they "can give them freedom to express themselves".

• He added: "We can give them tactical organisation in the way that we think is better for us - with a smile and with positive beliefs to create the true spirit."

Hit play above to hear more from Pereira or listen on BBC Sounds here

And hear from Elliot Anderson below, speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham about the need to avoid complacency - that's also available here on BBC Sounds

Got a question about Forest? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Manchester United are interested in signing Nottingham Forest's England midfielders Morgan Gibbs-White, 26, and Elliot Anderson, 23, but rivals Manchester City are also monitoring both players. (Mail - subscription required), external

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Pat Riddell
Fan writer

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Continue playing as well as we did against Fenerbahce and Liverpool, and Nottingham Forest will be fine this season. We've heard this before though.

Vitor Pereira's arrival has given the side a lift, with his emphasis on identity - "the freedom to express themselves, to be happy and enjoy". And it's obvious that the dominance the Reds showed in Istanbul, and certainly in the first half on Sunday, demonstrated this identity.

However, the glaring statistic this season is that only one goal at the City Ground has been scored by a striker. And that striker was Chris Wood on the opening day against Brentford. The New Zealand international has remained injured since October and his clinical finishing from limited opportunities is perhaps the biggest loss to the club since our summer of discontent.

Igor Jesus has found his feet in the Europa League, becoming Forest's top scorer in European competition by beating Garry Birtles' 47-year record. But in the Premier League he's found goals harder to come by.

Arnaud Kalimuendo was sent out on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt - immediately collecting a player of the month award - and Taiwo Awoniyi scored a superb goal at Brentford last month but hasn't been seen since. Lorenzo Lucca has been here for just three weeks.

So can Pereira unlock our scoring issue? Does he have the tactical tweaks to make our current 4-2-3-1 set-up work? Or does a formation change make sense?

Either way, he's correctly identified confidence as an issue and it's clear that we have the players and ability to perform - they just need to believe that. As it stands, being comfortable on the ball and passing it around counts for little if you don't have a cutting edge.

Perhaps the new manager has seen enough to know that converting chances is all we really need to work on - especially set pieces. Because playing well, or not, counts for little if you don't start winning games.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Manchester United have been impressed by Nottingham Forest midfielder Ibrahim Sangare in their search for a replacement for the outgoing Casemiro. (GiveMeSport), external

Meanwhile, Forest could be open to offers for striker Igor Jesus at the end of the season. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport