Anthony Elanga continued to restrain the celebration after scoring a stunning solo goal with Manchester United, but the subtle smile on his face revealed his quiet satisfaction with his score with his previous club.
And who can blame him? United viewed Elanga’s surplus as a requirement and allowed him to join Nottingham Forest. There, he became a key figure in the transformation of Nuno Espirito Santo’s team. Now unlike the Red Devils, he looks ready to play Champions League football next season.
Forest’s 1-0 victory – secured by a dynamic Swedish winger – not only strengthened his position in the top four of the Premier League, but deepened United’s struggle. With the 13th league defeat of the season, Reuben Amorim’s side is facing a tough prospect for their first bottom half finish since 1990.
Apart from what one of the previous players gave them in a painful defeat, it should be said that United spent most of the 300 million euros to sign Antony, Jadon Sancho and Rasmos Hozilund. Neither Sancho nor Antony justified the money spent on their services. One had ups and downs with Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, while the other seemed to be a real-life Betis reincarnated player. Only Hojlund remains at the club.
Worse, the 22-year-old Danish International spent a heated evening at the city grounds, without any problems with the central back duo in the forest of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovich. Ultimately, Amorim had to look to taste defender Harry Maguire to play ahead of time. The 32-year-old centre-back is much more likely to score in the minutes he spent on the pitch than Hodgland throughout the game.
Elanga left Old Trafford in 2022 and makes little or no fuss. He plays a great role in what was an incredible season in the forest, and his offensive flares frequently remind United fans that they have been missing for a while. Marcus Rashford is another good example of a player with all sorts of issues with the United Shirts, and his talent has come to the fore once again after joining Aston Villa on loan in January.
The conclusion is very simple. It’s not that Manchester United can’t identify players with big potential, it’s that they really don’t know how they’ll use them. Eric Ten Hag has been widely criticized for this, and it appears that Amorim hasn’t done anything more since he took over from the Dutch. As a result, United is a club, so almost every player wants to play to the club. This requires younger players to leave to reach their full potential. The season is moving forward in April and it is very informative that United have not recorded one case of back-to-back Premier League wins.
Amorim’s men still managed to qualify for the Champions League, but the only hope to do so is to win the Europa League this season. Of course, it’s easier than you say. As is the case, the outlook that they won’t play in UEFA’s elite competition is probably realistic, even in Europe.
In that case, it’s very likely for players like Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho who are reportedly being asked to request top European clubs to leave this summer. Bruno Fernandez is clearly interested in Real Madrid, but Amorim played the rumours down, saying that he at least informed the Portuguese playmaker that his offer of service was not entertained.
It’s been five years since Fernandez joined United from Sports Lisbon, and the 20-time British champions have definitely not been successful. It is clear that their reconnaissance departments need to pay close attention to their potential transfer targets to suit their coach’s specific requirements, rather than the obvious level of football talent or weight of previous success elsewhere.