One of the few bright spots from an otherwise disastrous last season, Anthony Elanga has continued to feature heavily under new manager Erik ten Hag.
He laid on the assist for Jadon Sancho‘s opener against Liverpool and has featured in seven out of the eight games that United have featured in.
This clearly shows that the Dutch manager trusts the young Swede. And he feels this trust has percolated throughout the squad and there is a real sense of togetherness this time around.
Mood change 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 are comfortable together, we have good chemistry. It’s just a matter of continuing,” Elanga told Fotbollskanalen.
Having been a part of the dressing room during the tumultuous 2021-22 season, the Sweden international acknowledges the differences the new manager has brought in.
Anthony Elanga asked if #mufc can win the Premier League: “It’s still early to answer, but if we continue to play as we have done and win matches then… you never know.” [@fotbollskanal]
— utdreport (@utdreport) September 21, 2022
“It has become a new system. Not all the players are quite used to it, but we have been playing well and have started to win games. We are happy.
“If I have to say one thing, it’s attitude. Our attitude has improved a lot. We are more focused and know what to do. We play as a team,” the 20-year-old added.
On a personal level, Elanga has not had the kind of impact that he would have liked. Even though he has got the chance to start quite a few games, assists and goals have not flowed from the United academy product’s boots.
The Dutch boss has still not lost faith and with Elanga’s ability to play both on the right and left flank, that might hold him in good stead following the big money acquisition of Antony.
Elanga needs to step up
“I’ve played most of the games. So I’m happy. The coach is very good with me. It is important to have good competition in the team.
“He (Antony) plays on the right and I play on the left. It is good. We are all young and we have a lot of games this year,” the confident youngster remarked.
Apart from masterminding impressive results against arch-rivals Liverpool and league leaders Arsenal, Ten Hag has also helped rejuvenate the careers of quite a few underperforming stars like Marcus Rashford and Diogo Dalot to name a few.
And Elanga feels the squad believes that they have the chance to stake a claim for the Premier League title.
“It is still early to answer, but if we continue to play as we have done and win matches then…you never know.”
Elanga will be hoping to feature more especially considering the hectic schedule coming up and improving his output levels as United seek to continue in the same vein.
