Anthony Elanga the conversation he had with Erik ten Hag amidst lack of game time

Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga reveals the conversation he has had with boss Erik ten Hag after a lean period in terms of game time.

The Sweden international has only played 672 minutes of football in all competitions for the Red Devils, assisting two goals in the process.

The 20-year-old, who has been a United youth player since 2015, did have a breakthrough season last time around when he played over 2,000 minutes in 37 appearances in all competitions.

Here’s what Elanga said when asked about the conversations he has had with ten Hag and more (h/t Manchester Evening News):

“It is frustrating. You want to play. It is important. But if you don’t play, it’s not up to me but up to the coach.

“I have spoken to Erik [ten Hag] and it is private between the two of us. I know what he wants me to do and I can just keep training hard. When the opportunity comes, I just have to be ready to take it. We have a lot of dialogue, not only about it but also what is happening around. That’s the good thing about the club, we talk a lot and they help me a lot.”

It is normal for a young player to go through a lean period in terms of getting regular game time. What they need to do is keep working hard and training well to catch the eye of the manager in due course.

After an encouraging campaign last time around, Elanga has seemingly hit a roadblock under the management of ten Hag.

Although it is frustrating to not play, the Swede needs to stay patient, work on his game, keep talking to the manager and produce the best version of himself on the training pitch.

We all know that the 20-year-old is an exciting talent who would go on to become one of the best wingers in the world. But, a sense of patience and calm needs to be had.

Even if Elanga continues to play a fringe role till the end of this season, he must come back for the pre-season with a mindset of doing well there and almost forcing the manager to start him come the first game of the season.

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From ten Hag’s viewpoint, he has done an excellent job grooming young players and giving them a pathway. Let’s trust him to do the same with Elanga.