Anthony Elanga is enjoying life as a key player at Nottingham Forest.
The Sweden international, 21, was never going to achieve that status at Manchester United where he was a squad player.
Some people think when they see someone like Elanga performing well at Forest that this means United missed out. Not at all. You should know that playing for United and Forest are two very different things, even if they’re both Premier League teams.
Elanga has spoken about his £15 million transfer to Forest which occurred during the summer. He says Erik ten Hag was not behind his decision to leave Old Trafford as the winger hinted he’s been impressed by the Dutchman’s managerial career to date.
After joining United at the age of 13, it must have been an emotional decision to leave but it was worth it when you consider his role at new club Forest.
Elanga’s opportunities were limited under Ten Hag, so he probably fet that he had no other choice but to move for the sake of his career.
When asked if he holds any grudge against Ten Hag, Elanga told Dutch outlet Soccer News, as cited by the Manchester Evening News: “No, I wouldn’t say that [Ten Hag was the reason for his departure]. I just wanted to play, that was especially important to me.
“I’m young and don’t want to sit on the bench all season, you know? When you are young you want to play, you want to make mistakes, you want to take risks.
“But he wasn’t the reason for my departure. I focused mainly on myself, not on others.”
He was then asked if he had hoped to flourish under Ten Hag like Frenkie de Jong and Matthjis de Ligt.
The Swede replied: “Of course I also saw what he did at Ajax. But when you come to England, everything is different.
“He has made several players better, Ryan Gravenberch for example, who now plays at Liverpool. But I just wanted to take my chance and go somewhere else and that was a good decision, because at Forest I’m having a good time.”
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