Roland Cutinho
Manchester United planning player sales, with Anthony Elanga being a part of the mass exodus
According to the Guardian, Manchester United are hoping to extract at least £30 million from the sale of 21-year-old attacker Anthony Elanga.
The Swedish forward has been playing for the Red Devils since 2014, advancing through the club’s youth ranks and eventually making his debut for the first team in 2021.
During the previous season, Elanga featured regularly for Man United, making 27 appearances across all competitions, with 21 of those appearances in the Premier League. In the ongoing 2022-23 campaign, he has already played 26 matches.
The youngster flourished under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but has failed to make an impression under current manager Erik ten Hag.
He has started only five league matches in the current season, making 16 league appearances overall, with 11 of those as a substitute.
In the team’s final 13 matches, Elanga was included in the Premier League squad only three times, as Ten Hag favoured other options in the attacking positions.
Elanga still has three years remaining on his contract with United. It was widely expected that he would leave the club on loan during the winter transfer window.
Still, the player decided to stick with his team. However, the Red Devils are now open to the possibility of permanently letting him leave the club.
United are quite active in the ongoing summer transfer window, with Ten Hag aiming to assemble a squad capable of competing for major honours in the next season.
They have already sealed Mason Mount’s signature and are fully on course to bring Inter Milan shot-stopper Andre Onana to Old Trafford. However, the Dutch boss is also eyeing a new striker to lead the line.
Hence, more funds are required to make it possible, and Elanga’s transfer does make sense at this stage. Despite his young age, the former Jimmy Murphy award winner possesses significant potential, although he has not been able to consistently showcase his abilities as desired.
A move to another club has more upsides for the player who has already fallen through the pecking order at his current club. Ten Hag prefers to play Antony, Marcus Rashford, and Alejandro Garnacho quite frequently in his starting XI.
Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig have shown interest in the player this summer. It is a welcome boost for Elanga to have such big clubs linked to him.
The German clubs are known for their fast-paced attacking style of play, and Elanga could be able to bring his skills to a foreign league. Dortmund and Leipzig are known to nurture young talents, and the Swedishman is no exception if he makes a move.
The youngster can walk a similar path as Jadon Sancho, who joined Die Borussen in 2017 and turned into a goal-scoring beast. However, it is still uncertain whether Dortmund will be ready to pay £30m for the young attacker.
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Also, it is worth noting that the Red Devils will need to decide whether to take a risk and sell him or prefer to send him on loan. Hence, it will be interesting to see how this entire story unfolds in the upcoming weeks. Any permanent sale for Elanga can come back to bite us in the long run.
