Many Manchester United fans would not have blamed Erik ten Hag for discarding any of Ralf Rangnick’s advice on the back of last season.
The German saw the Reds finish with their worst Premier League points tally amid a drab run-in. Amidst the capitulation, Rangnick suggested that the club needed as many as 10 new signings.
Ten Hag did not quite agree but did welcome six new players into his squad. One of them, Antony, has made it harder for Anthony Elanga to enjoy as much game time.
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The Sweden international has featured in seven games this season but has started just four of them, last starting a Premier League match in the 1-0 win over Leicester six weeks ago.
Rangnick saw something in Elanga that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t. He integrated the winger into his starting XI and his season peaked with a goal against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
But in recent weeks he has had to watch teammates Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony produce the magic on the flanks while he has been stuck on the bench. His last outing came in the 2-0 away win over Sheriff last month.
Nevertheless, Elanga’s assist for Sancho’s opener against Liverpool showed he can still hack it under a different manager asking him to perform different tactics. And despite his lack of game time, Ten Hag sent a message of encouragement this week.
Speaking about United’s forward players, he reminded regulars that the likes of Elanga are waiting in the wings should their levels drop, especially with a packed schedule to navigate their way through between now and the break for the World Cup.
"We have so many games to cover and we have five or six qualified, offensive players,” Ten Hag said. "We can rotate it as one and think about what I just mentioned, to bring in variations to catch a surprise.”
Elanga can, therefore, feel hopeful that he will get more minutes going forward. A big decision may await him in January if this doesn’t materialise but it seems Ten Hag admires Elanga as Rangnick did and is very much still considered a part of his plans.
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