Gary Lineker and Micah Richards have admitted that they were ‘surprised’ to see Manchester United offload Anthony Elanga last summer.
The 21-year-old swapped Manchester red for Nottingham Forest red in July when he signed for the Midlands outfit on a deal believed to be worth around £15 million.
It came as a surprise to fans; firstly that he was leaving on a permanent deal, and secondly because the fee was awfully low for a player of Elanga’s quality and potential. That’s United for you.
For Elanga, his aim was to acquire more game time after a season spent watching on from the sidelines in M16. In 2022/2033, he made just five Premier League starts and a further 11 appearances as a substitute, totalling 418 minutes worth of action in the top flight.
This term, the Sweden international has already outdone that tally with 652 minutes in the opening 12 games. He’s also flourishing under Steve Cooper, returning two goals and three assists in that time – outdoing the contributions of all of United’s forwards. Forest have certainly got their money’s worth.
Lineker on Elanga
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker shared his thoughts on the transfer, saying: “I quite liked him at Manchester United, I thought he had something. I just thought he had something about him. I was surprised they let him go actually.”
“I was surprised as well,” Richards added. “He has scored a couple and played really well. Some good celebrations as well.”
