One of the few bright spots from a disastrous last season, Anthony Elanga has continued to shine under new manager Erik ten Hag.
He provided the assist for Jadon Sancho’s first goal against Liverpool and has appeared in seven of the eight games United have featured in.
This clearly shows that the Dutch coach trusts the young Swede. And he feels that this trust has filtered through the whole team and that this time there is a real sense of togetherness.
Mood swing at Carrington
“If we lose, we lose as a team. Now we are more together. If we win, we do it as a team. The players feel comfortable together, we have good chemistry. It’s just a matter of continuing,” Elanga told Fotbollskanalen.
Having been part of the dressing room during the tumultuous 2021-22 season, the Sweden international acknowledges the differences the new manager has brought.
Anthony Elanga asked if #mufc can win the Premier League: “It’s still too early to answer but if we keep playing like we have and winning games then…you never know.” [@fotbollskanal]
— utdreport (@utdreport) September 21, 2022
“It has become a new system. Not all the players are very used to it, but we have been playing well and we have started to win games. We are happy.
“If I have to say one thing, it is the attitude. Our attitude has improved a lot. We are more focused and we know what to do. We play as a team,” added the 20-year-old.
On a personal level, Elanga has not had the kind of impact she would have liked. Although he has had the opportunity to start in quite a few games, the assists and goals have not come from the boots of the United youth squad.
The Dutch boss has yet to lose faith and with Elanga’s ability to play on both the right and left flanks, that could come in handy after acquiring Antony with deep pockets.
Elanga needs to step up
“I have played most of the games. So I’m happy. The coach is very good to me. It is important to have good competition in the team.
“He (Antony) plays on the right and I play on the left. He is good. We are all young and we have a lot of games this year”, commented the confident youngster.
As well as achieving impressive results against arch-rivals Liverpool and league leaders Arsenal, Ten Hag has also helped rejuvenate the careers of quite a few underachieving stars like Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot to name a few.
And Elanga feels the team believe they have a chance to claim the Premier League title.
“It’s still too early to answer, but if we continue to play like we have and win games, then…you never know.”
Elanga is hoping to field more, especially considering the hectic schedule ahead and improving his production levels as United look to continue in the same vein.
