Anthony Elanga keeps proving Manchester United wrong

Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga and Manchester United are having contrasting seasons.

United are languishing in the 14th position in the Premier League table at the moment, while Elanga might be able to in UEFA Champions League football next season for Nottingham Forest, who are in the third position in the league table after 33 matches.

Nottingham Forest beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in a Premier League match last Monday, April 21 to get to 60 points. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are the favorites now for a top-four finish.

A Great Season for Anthony Elanga and Nottingham Forest

Elanga now has six goals and nine assists in 33 league matches for Forest, which is a decent enough return.

Considering the fact that he failed to score a single goal in 26 matches for Manchester United, his previous club, in the 2022/23 season, shows how far he has improved his performance.

In his two seasons at Forest, Elanga has had 18 assists in the Premier League. He has made the position on the right flank his own, playing crosses and taking shots at the opposition goal frequently after cutting in through the inside-right channel.

The Swedish winger struggled to make it to the playing XI of Manchester United often and failed to win the confidence of his erstwhile manager, Erik ten Hag. That is one of the reasons he made a move to Nottingham Forest.

More Loanees Thrive

However, as things turned out, Antony, one of the signings made by Ten Hag, had a forgettable stint on the right flank for the Red Devils and was loaned to Real Betis subsequently.

On the other hand, Elanga’s sustained improvement at Nottingham Forest keeps showing how erroneous the judgement of the Manchester United management turned out to be in case of yet another player.

Manchester United have also erred in letting Scott McTominay leave, as he is having a fine time at Napoli.

Jadon Sancho, yet another player who left on loan, is also having a reasonably good time at Chelsea.

Therefore, Elanga is by no means the only player who has underperformed while being at Old Trafford, but made a great impression elsewhere.

Currently, with the exception of Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka, there is hardly a right-winger in Premier League who can match Elanga in terms of consistent performances.

If Elanga keeps playing that way, he could very well move to a bigger club in near future. In fact, Manchester United themselves are considering to have an offer to sign Elanga back.

The Swede is still only 22 and has a long career ahead of him. Besides, his chances of winning a silverware with his club cannot be ruled out at the moment.

Nottingham Forest are in the last four of FA Cup and will take on Manchester City in the semi-finals next Sunday, April 27.

It will be a remarkable achievement for them to win the FA Cup. Elanga will look to win the tournament for his team, but he will have to take on Manchester City’s might for that.

One can only wish him to continue to succeed in the way he has been doing for Nottingham Forest during the last couple of seasons.