Man United -Baas Ruben Amorim has returned to suggestions that the Red Devils have made a mistake by selling Anthony Elanga to Nottingham Forest.
Elanga, 22, yielded a stunning winner against his former club on Tuesday evening when Forest United convicted for their 13th Premier League defeat of the season.
After collecting the ball just outside his own penalty area, Elanga burst onto the field and then ended with Aplomb past Andre Onana, although he refused to celebrate his fifth minute strike.
The wing player, who came in Old Trafford due to the youth ranks before he came to Forest in the summer of 2023 for £ 15 million, is in the middle of a brilliant season after having set seven goals and adding eight assists in the top flight.
And given his match-winning representation on the city, Amorim was pressed to see if United was wrong to sell the 22-year-old.
“We are talking about many front players for Manchester United who are doing well, but they had the chance here,” said the Portuguese.
'At Manchester United you don't have time. I will not have the time. We have to do well soon. '
Elanga has 28 target contributions in his two seasons with Forest, a record that beats every broad player who was in United at that time.
This included the struggles of Antony, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho – an unwanted trio that was sent on loan – but Amorim was steadfast in his opinion.
“You are not talking about players who did not play for Manchester United,” he added. “They played here for Manchester United.
'Here the pressure is sometimes too great and sometimes you don't get time and you should have time for these children to develop.
'But for that you need a strong basis to support all these children and if you don't have a strong foundation, we will not help our children.
“They had their chances and sometimes football is so and the pressure of playing for Manchester United is really big.”
Elanga initially became a member at the age of 12 after his family had moved from Sweden to England and made his first team debut on May 19, 2021.
The winger scored four goals in 55 performances for the Red Devils, but after he was frustrated by a lack of regular opportunities, he moved to the city slightly less than two years ago.
Elanga spoke with The Times in February 2024
'It was difficult [to leave] But it was necessary because I wanted to play and I didn't want to spend another season playing ten minutes or not playing for ten games, “he explained.
'I wanted a new start, but I knew it would not be easy to leave a club that I had been with for nine years.
'Sometimes football is like that, it may not always work somewhere. I had seen what he (Erik ten Hag) did at Ajax (with young players), so I looked forward to it, but I just didn't get the chances. '
In the meantime, after his goal – of which TNT Sports revealed that he saw a remarkable 85 meters in nine seconds – Elanga said: 'The point is to attack the space and so quickly reach the opposite goal. I saw the space and I believe that I am one of the fastest players in the competition.
“I appreciate Manchester United so much, because I learned a lot there.”
“(85 meters) with the ball,” Bosbaas Nuno Espirito Santo added. 'Imagine without the ball!
“It was very special. He has the capacity to drive with pace and yet to control the ball. It is very difficult and requires a lot of technology. '
The victory solidified the position of Forest in third place in the top flight, well placed with Nuno's side to qualify for the first time since 1980-81 for Europe Elite Club competition.
United remains in 13th place, 12 points of the top four after not scoring a league match for the 11th time this season.
Comments