Oliver Glasner admits Nottingham Forest had to accept place in ‘food chain’ by selling Elliot Anderson
Despite since being surpassed by Chelsea’s acquisition of Morgan Rogers, the £116million deal remains the biggest deal in Forest’s history.
His departure from the City Ground came as Glasner was appointed to replace Vitor Pereira in the dugout.
The Austrian has signed a three-year deal having left Crystal Palace at the end of last season.
Glasner has now revealed he had accepted Anderson would be leaving the club upon his arrival.
Anderson exit ‘accepted’
Speaking to Andy Goldstein and Andy Townsend on Breakfast, he was asked if Forest were ever close to keeping hold of the 23-year-old.
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In response, Glasner admitted: “No, no, it was decided that he will leave and I think that’s what we have to accept and we are not at the end of the food chain in football.
“Probably our best players will always have big offers and then it is when. And at the end if we decide that we sell a player there are always two reasons.
“So number one is you need the money due to financial reasons. That was not the case here at Nottingham.
“Or the second part is that you believe that you can strengthen your team, but that doesn’t mean just on this one position.
“I think it’s not possible to get a better player right now than Elliot Anderson was for Nottingham Forest, but maybe we can add one or two more players on other positions where we can get better as a team and that’s what we try to do.”
Anderson, who was part of the Three Lions squad which finished third at the World Cup, spent two years at Forest.
Following his arrival from boyhood Newcastle United in 2024, he made 92 appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals from midfield.
Forest targets
Glasner also looked ahead to the upcoming campaign during his appearance on Breakfast.
He has inherited a Forest side which finished 16th in the Premier League last season, avoiding relegation by six points.
The East Midlands side also reached the semi-finals of the Europa League before losing to eventual winners Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, midfielder Xaver Schlager is currently their only new addition this summer, joining on a free transfer from RB Leipzig.
Revealing his targets for the new season, Glasner explained: “Step No.1 has to be to get consistency into the club and this is after a very difficult last year. I don’t know the reasons.
“It’s also the past, like the two stars (for European Cup wins), it’s the past. So I think you can’t rely (on the fact) that you won European trophies in the 70s and 80s, so long ago.
“I think none of our players had been born at that time. So we have to write our own book, we have to write our own history.
“And No.1 is getting consistency into this club and then building on a very good base and going step-by-step forward.
“Everybody has to accept that it’s just the fifth season in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest after around 20 years in League One and the Championship.
“So I honestly think that Forest has done a brilliant job in the last (few) years and then now it’s with the consistency, with going step-by-step forward.
“We want to establish (ourselves) in the top half of the Premier League, but we all know how challenging and how competitive the Premier League is.”
Palace return
Glasner arrives at Forest fresh from winning three trophies in two years at Palace.
Their Conference League triumph in May followed victories in both the FA Cup and Community Shield.
However, Glasner now faces a potentially hostile reception on his return to Selhurst Park.
Forest will make the trip to south London on October 10 in just their sixth Premier League match of the season.
Glasner’s move between the clubs has added to the existing needle between the two clubs.
Palace were demoted from the Europa League last season by UEFA, with Forest replacing them in the competition.
Despite that, Glasner is looking forward to his Palace return, adding: “I had more than two amazing years at Crystal Palace and I really enjoyed every single day there with the players, with the staff, with the ownership.
“Again, two fantastic years that I will always remember in my life and winning three trophies at the end was amazing.
“So I’m really looking forward to this game, but of course it will be very special to go to the away dressing room and not to the home dressing room.”