Anthony Elanga picks three Man Utd teammates he took 'chapters' from

25 August 2023 , 17:50

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Anthony Elanga picks three Man Utd teammates he took 'chapters' from

Anthony Elanga has spoken of the impact Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Bruno Fernandes had on him during his time at Old Trafford.

The Swedish starlet began his professional career at United, but left in the close-season to join Nottingham Forest. The 21-year-old will return to his former home ground this weekend, though, with Forest travelling to Old Trafford for a Premier League clash.

Reflecting on his time in Manchester, Elanga pointed to the senior stars who he learned from early in his career. While Ronaldo is no longer on United's books, having left midway through last season, the other two could line up against him on Saturday.

"He was special," Elanga told ForestTV when asked about Ronaldo. "I always said if you can take some little bits and bobs from their chapter, because look at him, at 38 and he's still playing, which just shows his discipline, it's out of this world.

"Taking a little bit of chapters from their books, not just his but Varane, Bruno, the list goes on and on. You can't stop learning, and that's what I've always said.

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Anthony Elanga left Man Utd for Nottingham Forest this summer (MI News/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)

Elanga, who moved to the City Ground for around £15m, came off the bench in each of his team's first two league games this season. Forest lost their opener at Arsenal before claiming a late victory over Sheffield United.

United won all four meetings with Forest last season, twice in the league and twice in the Carabao Cup. Elanga was involved in two of those games, and will now potentially go up against a weakened United defence after injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.

"We can't do that [put a timescale]," Ten Hag said when asked about a return date for Shaw and midfielder Mason Mount. "It's personal these days, they will be for some period absent where Luke will be longer than Mason. Luke will be longer and Mason I think.

"Will also take a few weeks before [Malacia] will be back. Definitely, we have the solutions in our squad to cope with that. We thought before the season about this scenario, it could happen, you hope to avoid. But if it happens you have to be ready for it."

Tom Victor