Manchester United News: The fact that Anthony Elanga has been refused permission to take a loan at Manchester United speaks volumes about his status there.
Despite paying £85.5m for Antony and having Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford back fit, Ten Hag believed Elanga was too crucial to allow a loan, despite a request from Leicester.
The winger’s quality and development have been recognized by his placement on the 40-player shortlist for Tuttosport’s renowned Golden Boy award. Elanga has featured in all but one of Ten Hag’s eight games in charge of United.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling and Erling Haaland are just a few of the previous winners. Of the 19 people who received the award, eight have played for Manchester teams, be it United or City.
Manchester United news: Who else is on the list?
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho, England’s Jude Bellingham and Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal’s Marquinhos are also on the list, which will be shortened to 20 names next month.
Former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave Elanga his United debut. Still, it was caretaker manager Ralf Rangnick who gave the 21-year-old a steady run in the lineup after replacing the Norwegian.
Like Ten Hag, Rangnick was so taken aback by Elanga that he refused to let him out on loan. That was the original idea to give the winger more opportunities to play and improve.
Rangnick spent much of his early days in charge of United poring over video of his new players in action and acclimatising.
He was particularly attracted to one player, Elanga, who made a big impression on him. Rangnick told the club to stop considering loaning him out.
What did Rannick say?
He showed up from day one of my first training session, Rangnick said. “I had heard of him before. I saw videos of him in my hotel room on YouTube and thought, “This kid is really good. He almost came close to leaving on loan. I told him: “You will not go; stay here”, and he has grown in training.
Despite failing to score this season, Elanga came back with three goals and two assists, and Ten Hag was impressed.
What did Elanga say?
We put in a lot of effort during the pre-season and accepted the way the coach wanted us to play, according to Elanga. “If I had to highlight a change, it would be the attitude. Our outlook has improved dramatically.
We have greater clarity and we know what to do. Our team plays together. New strategies and a new system have been incredibly beneficial, and I’m looking forward to working with him this season to develop all facets of my game.
“Good competitiveness within the squad is fundamental. I play on the left, while Antonio plays on the right. He is great. We all have a lot of games this year, and we are young.
