Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick believes Anthony Elanga can build on the encouraging performance he produced in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
With Marcus Rashford sidelined and Jadon Sancho only named amongst the substitutes, interim manager Ralf Rangnick awarded a starting berth to the Swede on the left-flank.
Starting in the Premier League for the first time this season, the youngster, who wowed the Old Trafford crowd when he stepped off the bench against Steven Gerrard's side in the FA Cup five days earlier, Elanga made the most of his opportunity, carrying a constant threat down the left.
Not fazed by the occasion, the versatile attacker showed no sign of fear as he looked to put Villa right-back Matty Cash on the back-foot, with his pace and trickery eye-catching aspects to his personal game.
Impressed by his performance, former United man Chadwick is hoping to see more of the 19-year-old, who was also handed a start against Brentford.
"There's definitely something to build on there," Chadwick told CaughtOffside. "You can see the shape's changed, the team look a lot more confident playing with wide men.
"Elanga came into the team and looks a bundle of energy. With [Nemanja] Matic playing that holding role, it looks like everyone knows their job a bit more, it gave Fred license to roam a bit more and it was probably the best we’ve seen from Bruno Fernandes in a long time.
"I'd be surprised if we didn't see Elanga again. He brings a lot of energy out of possession, works hard, and he has that joy of youth, plays without fear.
"He wants to attack, it doesn't always work out for him, but he gets up the pitch and has plenty of intelligence with what he does with the ball in the final third. I like his directness and he’s shown real hunger to do well."
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