Former Nottingham Forest striker Stan Collymore believes Elliot Anderson can step up and successfully replace Rodri at Manchester City.
Anderson recently joined Man City from Forest for a British-record £116 million, putting considerable pressure on the England midfielder to emulate the talismanic Spaniard, who has since departed for Barcelona.
Collymore also tipped Forest to challenge for European football under Oliver Glasner after the ex-Crystal Palace boss succeeded Vítor Pereira in July.
Anderson backed to evolve
In an exclusive conversation with 10bet, Collymore said of Anderson: “The main area for Anderson to expand going forward is his proactive threat in the final third.
“At Forest, he consistently found pockets in the number 10 role to execute key passes.
“Sitting deeper for England alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham was an assigned tactical duty, but replacing a Ballon d’Or winner like Rodri requires more than retaining possession.
“Rodri steps up in critical moments – scoring decisive goals in Champions League finals and big matches.
“Anderson can recycle possession effortlessly; the next step in his evolution is consistently taking over matches.
“Under new coaching and elevated standards at Manchester City, he has the baseline talent to make that position his own if he asserts his authority.”
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Forest in good hands
Touching on the situation at Forest, Collymore added: “Seeing bookmakers list Forest among the favourites for relegation seems wildly inaccurate based on their squad depth.
“Unless there is internal friction between Glasner and the hierarchy, this team operates at an eighth- to 10th-place standard.
“Glasner is a proven manager who has won trophies across Europe.
“Forest have the framework to compete around the European positions rather than lingering near the bottom of the table.”
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Juliette White 
SportJustSport writers