U21 Player to Watch: Nottingham Forest – Anthony Elanga

Anthony Elanga is one of the players to have risen to the big stage from the Manchester United academy in recent years. The Swedish international was one of the few positives of the ill-fated 2021/22 season when United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and appointed Ralf Rangnick to take care of the first team. 

However, the past season could have been a better one for Elanga, where the forward struggled for playing time and was entirely out of the first-team picture under Erik Ten Hag. Now, the 21-year-old is close to securing a permanent move to Nottingham Forest, and it will be interesting to see how his career pans out after this.

Given that Elanga played very few minutes last season but was almost a regular during the 2022/23 season, his performances during that season have been considered for this piece and the below visualisation.

Anthony Elanga was highly rated by several people who watched the United youth teams regularly. Ralf Rangnick agreed with those opinions too, and the 21-year-old Swedish international was sometimes the first name on the team sheet under the Austrian manager. 

The biggest strength that Elanga brought to the pitch was his work off the ball. Known for his intense and tireless pressing from the front, Elanga is known for his goalscoring abilities and his defensive responsibilities. Elanga can play anywhere in the front three but is most effective when playing on the left side of the attacking trio — from where he likes to cut in and shoot. He was, however, primarily used on the right side of the pitch during the 2021/22 season. 

His playing time during the 2022/23 was limited to minutes from the bench mostly. As seen in the visual above, Elanga ranks highly for most defensive metrics and below average for on-the-ball metrics.

His move to Nottingham Forest should make sense as Forest try to sit back and have little of the ball, and counterattack most of their opponents. This playing style suits Elanga’s profile, and if Forest are to survive next season, they will be relying on their depth and players like Anthony Elanga to play a vital part.