Newcastle look set to complete the signing of Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest for £55 million. Fabrizio Romano gave the deal its famous ‘Here we go’. The deal has been reached between the clubs, with the player and Newcastle already having a deal in place.
Manchester United are due to benefit to the sum of roughly £5.5 million as they had a 10% sell-on clause inserted in the deal with Nottingham Forest when he joined the club in 2023. The deal between Manchester United and Nottingham Forest for the winger initially reached a fee of roughly £15 million.
Elanga will come into the Newcastle squad to provide some competition for the wingers on both sides, with the ability to play either on the left or the right.
Elanga at Manchester United
Anthony Elanga was born in Sweden, and at the age of 12, his family moved to Manchester. In Sweden, he had been in the Elfsborg and Malmö academies, and after a short time playing club football in Manchester, he was scouted by both Manchester United and Manchester City. He chose United, and by the age of 15, he was playing for the famous Manchester United under-18s.
Elanga made his Premier League debut late in the 2020-21 season and the next year became a regular part of the first team squad. In this time, he also made his Champions League debut and scored his first Champions League goal against Atlético Madrid. In his 21 games in the Premier League that year, he scored twice and provided two assists.
The next season, his time in the first team was limited, playing only 437 minutes in the Premier League and only 138 minutes in the Europa League, a competition where youngsters are typically given more gametime. This led to the pathway to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2023, where Nottingham Forest had kept themselves in the Premier League.
Elanga and his quality for Nottingham Forest
When Elanga arrived at Nottingham Forest, he made an immediate impact, and in his two seasons, he has been a key part of their growth and success, which has led to European qualification.
In 2023/24, he scored five goals and provided nine assists. Only Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White were involved in more goals, with 15 compared to his 14.
Last season, Elanga grew in significance, and this was clear in his increased goal and assist numbers. With six goals, he was the club’s third-highest scorer, and with 11 assists, he was the club’s top assister. In fact, he was only the third highest assisted in the whole league, behind PFA player of the season, Mohamed Salah and one of the men he may be in to replace Jacob Murphy. He also showed his speed as one of the fastest players of the season.
Newcastle’s ambitions for next season
Newcastle just scraped into the Champions League places on the final day. Aston Villa dropped points to Manchester United in controversial circumstances. Newcastle also dropped points as they lost 1-0 to Everton. They earned the space in the Champions League for only the second time in recent years. This no doubt adds to their willingness to spend this summer.
Elanga will compete with Jacob Murphy for a place on the right wing. He will also provide cover for the left-hand side of the pitch, where Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes have been aiming to supply for Alexander Isak. This is even more important with Callum Wilson’s departure from the club.