Anthony Martial’s injury and Antony’s delayed transfer have given Anthony Elanga the chance to play in five of Manchester United’s seven games this season.
After a full pre-season, expectations were high that the 20-year-old could move on after a promising finish last season with Ralf Rangnick.
But Elanga’s performances have been disappointing, as the statistics underline.
Looking at the attacking stats, Elanga has managed a solitary assist in five matches, with no goals.
He has averaged just over one shot every two games, and has only managed one shot on goal all season.
Elanga has also missed two big opportunities.
Passing stats are also dismal reading, especially crossing. In five games, Elanga has not made any accurate cross. His accuracy on long balls is only 2 for 4 and he has only completed 73% of passes in his own half.
The winger only completed 25% of his dribbles successfully and has lost possession 6.2 times.
Obviously, with a fully fit squad at his disposal, Erik ten Hag cannot continue to select Elanga on such a regular basis. Antony is likely to be the first choice on the right flank and Jadon Sancho on the left, with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Cristiano Ronaldo all able to rotate in and out of the centre-forward position on the wings.
However, there is an argument that based on these stats, players like Alejandro Garnacho could have a chance ahead of Elanga should the need for reinforcements arise.
Of course, all footballers suffer from a loss of form from time to time and a poor five-game stretch is no reason to rule out an Academy graduate who seems to have a bright future.
However, it may be that unless something changes before the World Cup, the Swede could be considered for loan in January as he looks to overcome this issue in his career.
Image source and all stats: sofascore.com
