Elliot Anderson has been quite good for Manchester City since being a summer transfer, but he hasn't been perfect. He understands he is still adapting to and learning Enzo Maresca's system, but the system needs to use him more, too.
The midfielder hasn't been involved in scoring goals much so far, and that's been a bit of a problem. He also tends to cling to his mark, and a smart opponent can use that against him. One is Anderson's fault, but the other isn't.
Except for Erling Haaland, Man City has recently struggled to score goals. Maybe this is a Maresca issue. Many of the top players at the club got used to Pep Guardiola's fluid approach, but Maresca takes a more practical and traditional approach.
Manchester City needs a bit more and less from Elliot Anderson
That has meant that when things get a bit stagnant for the club on offense, they haven't tended to change much. Set pieces are fine, but the club still relies far too much on Haaland's magic to get leads. As great as he is, that cannot be the way moving forward.
The club could use a bit more Anderson in setting up other players. That happened this week in Champions League play against RB Leipzig when Anderson fed Haaland on a brilliant cross for the Blues' third goal. The pass was seemingly so natural and easy for the midfielder that not including him more in the attack in the future would be a mistake.
City needs a spark offensively, and Anderson would be that spark. Since joining the club in July, he has just one goal and has assisted on two others. But again, the lack of productivity is because of what is being asked of the former Nottingham Forest player, not because he is incapable of providing more.
His statistical excellence is without argument. He ranks in the top three in the Premier League in completed passes on an opponent's side, total touches, and duels won. He has been asked to be heavily involved, of course, but not asked to be involved enough when Manchester City needs to bury the ball into the back of the net.
His only real fault has been leaving his midfield position at times. He has left too much space in his side's defense when he chooses to chase players against Paris Saint-Germain and Brighton. Anderson will learn and adjust, most likely, but since City has become involved in tighter games recently, Anderson's tendency to vacate his spot needs to cease.
The £116 million transfer has an excellent opportunity to push for more touches near the goal, beginning on Saturday when Manchester City faces Anderson's former teammates with Forest. He could be extra motivated to do well against his former club.
Either way, City needs to find a way to get an easy victory against a struggling Forest and head into the next international break on a high note. Nothing would make a tired club more reenergized than a strong victory before getting a little rest.
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