Pop! When Ryan Yates cleaned up the ball to Anthony Elanga, it was as if the Nottingham winger had heard the gun at the start of an Olympic 100m final.
The header of the second Yates started to fall towards him, Elanga hit the accelerator pedal and while he rushed over the turf, it was clear that there would not deny him. Neither Patrick Dorgu nor Alejandro Garnacho could stop him and when Noussair Mazraoui hesitated, the race was run.
Elanga's quiet finish was the equivalent of a gold medal moment of the night, an amazing 85 meters covered with nine seconds.
That would be at 11.5 seconds for 100m. All with a ball at his feet and with opponents who try to hinder him.
It was the only goal against Elanga's former Club Manchester United last Tuesday.
Elanga was in Old Trafford since he was 11, but was sold to the forest in the summer of 2023 for just £ 15 million.
For the context, the teenage attacker of Southampton, Tyler Diible, is appreciated by his club at £ 100 million, which is about to be relegated, while United £ 82 million paid for Antony, now thrive on real betis but never cut out for Premier League football. Although the Elanga deal recently was only one of the many shockers who made United on the transfer market, it was a turning point for forest.
Beyond was the Scattergun approach that followed promotion when the club concentrated on talented young people who could grow into established Premier League artists. Elanga has not only achieved that that he is in the beating heart of a team that is the story of the season in the top flight.
Although he is only 22, Elanga is one of Forest's band leaders together with Morgan Gibbs-White, Ola Aina and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
He speaks Swedish, English, French and Spanish and is so central to the dynamic Nuno Espirito Santo has created that Bos never considered him last summer or earlier this year, even when they reached £ 50 million.
A new contract will be offered in the coming months, although the Elanga deal will have three years to walk.
When Bos travels to Aston Villa on Saturday, the football audience will focus on Marcus Rashford, another player who revived from United, but the impact of Elanga has been greater.
Perhaps Villa was inspired by what Elanga achieved in Forest when they moved to Rashford in the winter. Elanga has six goals and eight assists and with Champions League football tempting close by, he and Forest hope that the strike against United will only be the beginning of the story.
“He improves because he was able to play a game after the game,” said Nuno. 'His teammates recognize his capacities and his pace. That goal on Tuesday was a credit for him and his ability to ride the ball and continue to increase the speed while he checked it. '
It's not just about the pace. Just like his former united teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Elanga was born in Malmo, Sweden, and Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo quickly help with helping as a young player.
He is furiously dedicated to his profession. Elanga regularly works with Tom Joyce, a fitness coach who trusts by countless football players to improve his strength and agility.
In one exercise, Elanga keeps one foot hung off the ground while the other is quickly moving between three fixed goals – designed to help the direction of the direction at high speed. Another one that he swears is box jump, jumps on a raised surface from a squat position. Once Elanga succeeded in achieving a height of 6ft, remarkable for a man who is only 5ft 10. He records strength and flexibility work in his pre-match routine.
Elanga also has a personal chef and uses red light therapy, which is thought that the recovery helps by using infrared rays to penetrate deep in tissues and joints.
When Forest rejected Newcastle offers, many were surprised. While everyone knew Elanga's strengths, he was far from complete. From outside, the £ 50 million reimbursement looked tempting. Within the city there was never a chance that it would be accepted. The goal against United shows why, but the decision was about much more than what Elanga can deliver on the field.
Time to rinse back to the dressing room in the Vitality Stadium on January 25 at the Vitality Stadium. Forest was just 5-0 beaten by Bournemouth, comfortably their worst version of the season.
Because players started to doubt themselves, Elanga was one of those who stopped the mood after the game. Put it behind us and continue to the next.
The Swede is a ruthless positive character and its cheerful mentality, even at such a low moment, raised the spirits of quieter personalities, such as Elliot Anderson and Neco Williams. During the week that followed, Elanga was just as focused and professionally as ever and he set an example for his colleagues to follow.
It does not matter that these were the final days of the transfer window and Newcastle show an interest. As usual, it was for Elanga and yes, Forest crushed Brighton 7-0 in their next game. His attitude after the Bournemouth match was probably even more influential than the three assists he offered that day.
This Sparky personality makes Elanga popular with training staff and he will stay long after the sessions have ended, shooting the breeze and playing games-a online version of Ludo is a special favorite with his teammates.
Elanga's mentality helped to convince former forest boss Steve Cooper to move for him two summers ago, when the club knew they would lose Brennan Johnson to Tottenham. The recruitment staff of Forest had looked at the data of Elanga well and although the most important statistics were not spectacular, a deeper dive convinced them that Elanga would thrive, given regular football.
Thanks to a long pitch via Zoom that described his plans for Elanga, as well as the prospect to play for such vocal supporters, Cooper Forest Everton helped with the deal. As now, Elanga is perfect for the way forest attacks. Because they sit deep and invite pressure, he often charges a clambered defense while Forest is launching their lightning. Give a quick player room for him and every opposition will get into trouble.
Elanga will probably play in the Champions League next season, but if he wants to operate there regularly, he would have to add subtlety to his speed. The One-Twos, the ability to drive in from the flank, thinking quickly in tight spaces this are the qualities that fast attackers in the upper bracket. Think of Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembele or Bukayo Saka. But Elanga is not there yet.
It is also a broader question for forest. Next season, the side of Nuno may need more strings for their bow against teams that have a better idea of how they can stop them.
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