Manchester United are competing on four fronts and manager Erik ten Hag is aware of the need to maintain a strong squad.
Quite a few players have expressed a wish to go out on loan considering the lack of minutes they have received so far this season.
One of them is Anthony Elanga, who has made seven starts in 19 appearances in all competitions this season.
After his breakthrough campaign under Ralf Rangnick last season, there was a feeling that the young Swede would kick on this season under Ten Hag.
Elanga has struggled under ETH
But he has not managed to have the same sort of impact with only assist to show for his efforts and generally not impressing when given the chance.
The feeling at the club was that a loan move could do the 20-year-old and his confidence a world of good with Premier League sides Everton and Bournemouth both interested.
But the Dutch manager wants the player to avoid the uncertainty of playing for a relegation-threatened team and thus blocked Everton’s attempts of signing the Sweden international on loan.
🚨 | NEW: Borussia Dortmund don’t have the money to buy Anthony Elanga, but he is a serious option for them. So it would be a loan. HOWEVER, they’re looking at selling players to make a permanent bid for Elanga [@cfbayern, @caughtoffside] pic.twitter.com/F9KkKaj4ea
— SimplyUtd (@SimplyUtd) January 20, 2023
Borussia Dortmund emerged as surprise suitors for Elanga with the United academy graduate also willing to join the Bundesliga giants.
Dortmund’s track record of developing youth players has made the decision easy for Elanga but the final decision remains with the United manager.
Interestingly, initially the talk surrounding the move was that Dortmund would bring him in on a six-month loan but the club are thinking of a permanent move in the summer as well.
For that to happen, funds will need to be generated through player sales but the idea remains intact.
Dortmund could try and fund a permanent move for Elanga
“Anthony Elanga is a serious option for Dortmund, he’s on the list, but they don’t have the money to buy him, so it would be a loan deal,” Christian Falk exclusively revealed in his Substack column for CaughtOffside.
“The sporting director, Sebastian Kehl, can try to sell some players (like Thorgan Hazard) in the next six months to help fund a potential permanent deal for Elanga.
“I heard there aren’t any talks yet, but the idea is there in Dortmund,” Falk added.
With Facundo Pellistri also generating plenty of interest and Jadon Sancho‘s return date yet to be ascertained, it remains to be seen what Ten Hag ultimately decides.
Elanga certainly has the potential even though his age means he has not managed to shine as consistently as people would have liked.
So will the club decide to take the risk and offload him permanently knowing what has happened with previous academy graduates?
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