Anthony Elanga to Newcastle: Nottingham Forest winger brings velocity, assists, crosses and adaptability

Anthony Elanga is without doubt one of the most explosive gamers within the Premier League and there’s already pleasure about how he might turn out to be a fan favorite at Newcastle United. That velocity is the obvious characteristic of his sport – and the statistics bear that out.

Micky van der Ven registered the highest velocity within the Premier League final season however you shouldn’t have to dig a lot deeper to disclose that Elanga was the standout sprinter within the competitors. Seven of the 20 quickest sprints within the Premier League had been his.

For context, no person else within the high 20, Van de Ven included, hit such a velocity greater than as soon as. Elanga, whose robustness is illustrated by the truth that he featured in all 38 of Nottingham Forest’s Premier League matches, introduced that tempo again and again.

Eddie Howe will intention to utilise that undoubted menace on the counter-attack, however the 23-year-old former Manchester United winger has proven underneath Nuno Espirito Santo that there’s way more to his sport now than simply these extraordinary bodily attributes.

Elanga has taken a leap ahead with Forest. With 20 assists for the membership over the previous two seasons, solely Mohamed Salah and Ollie Watkins can higher that. This season his whole of 11, his finest but in a single season, additionally ranked third within the Premier League.

He’s trending in the appropriate course, his assists per 90 minutes growing year-on-year all through his profession. Partially, that displays his set-piece supply. Within the 2024/25 season, he offered extra assists than any Premier League participant from dead-ball conditions.

An ideal instance of those two key qualities got here in the course of the win over West Ham in Could. Elanga scrambled to retrieve an angled go from Morgan Gibbs-White, gained a foul and duly whipped within the free-kick from which Nikola Milenkovic scored the successful purpose.

Forest followers have turn out to be accustomed to seeing Elanga use his nice velocity – described as “absolutely electrifying” by Jamie Carragher – on both flank and that flexibility makes him notably interesting to Howe as a result of he can cowl totally different positions.

Chatting with Nuno about this in April, the Forest head coach noticed Elanga as a participant able to enjoying “left, middle or right” in his system. It was commonplace to see him deployed alongside Chris Wooden, usually operating in behind because the striker dropped deep.

His second purpose towards Ipswich in March illustrated this clearly. Wooden drew the centre-back out of place and Elanga raced past to attain along with his proper foot – having earlier netted along with his left in additional typical vogue, reducing inside from the appropriate wing.

“It is not one piece by themselves, but how two or three pieces interact together,” Nuno instructed Sky Sports activities. “When Anthony plays in the middle, he has to have another reference to break the lines. You only can break the lines if there are opposite movements.”

It is a essential level to recollect relating to assessing the deserves of any new signing. Whereas Elanga’s belongings are arduous to overlook, it’s how he suits into the Forest ahead line that has helped the group surpass expectations in qualifying for Europe final season.

How properly will Elanga adapt to Newcastle’s model? He thrived underneath Nuno and his traits counsel that he ought to be a very good match for Howe and his high-intensity urgent. However it’s value noting that the 2 groups might hardly be extra totally different when out of possession.

No group within the Premier League final season allowed their opponents to progress the ball up the sphere as little as Newcastle did, their urgent sport elementary to their success. Forest’s sport plan was totally different. They sat deeper, creating house to assault.

This introduced out the very best in Elanga due to his capability to cost into that house. He ranked second solely to Kamaldeen Sulemana final season when it comes to common carry distance by attacking gamers, getting Forest up the pitch with the ball at his ft.

Newcastle will need him to begin increased. However Elanga does have the attributes to press. The sophistication of Forest’s out-of-possession sport underneath Nuno was a bit of underestimated, notably the calls for it positioned on the wingers defensively.

It was Elanga’s job to offer safety out of possession. Ryan Yates, the long-serving Forest midfielder, mentioned that the large change in Elanga’s sport had come off the ball. Placing that declare to Nuno within the spring, he agreed. “It is much better now,” he mentioned.

Of Elanga’s position, particularly, he added: “It requires knowledge of the game, the spaces to occupy, the lines that you want to cut, how to avoid being [counter-attacked on], how to create the right moment for the other team-mates to press. It is hard work.”

That tough work can be non-negotiable underneath Howe even when the duties change. And there’s no higher standard-setter than Jacob Murphy, the person in possession on Newcastle’s proper and one of many two gamers, alongside Salah, to register extra assists final season.

However Elanga’s age profile, his constant availability, his flexibility, his work ethic and his willingness to enhance are all elements in his favour relating to fulfilling the potential that first turned clear when he broke into the group at Manchester United.

Again within the Champions League for the primary time since scored United’s solely purpose towards Atletico Madrid in 2022, that is one other participant flourishing away from Outdated Trafford. However Newcastle are entitled to imagine there’s nonetheless much more to come back from Anthony Elanga.

Sky Sports activities to indicate 215 stay Premier League video games from subsequent season

From subsequent season, Sky Sports activities’ Premier League protection will improve from 128 matches to not less than 215 video games completely stay.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League video games subsequent season are on Sky Sports activities.