More bad Man Utd business! Ten Hag rues summer sale

Tom Weber

• Updated: 26 Dec 2023 15:01 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United have made a habit of doing bad business under Erik ten Hag.

The latest transfer that appears to have backfired is the summer sale of Anthony Elanga. The erstwhile wonderkid is quickly maturing at Nottingham Forest and is already outperforming Man Utd's attackers.

Though heavily utilised during the 2021/22 season, the young Swede saw his game time diminish under Erik ten Hag and it ultimately became clear that it would be better for him to play his football elsewhere. Forest splashed €17.5 million on the 21-year-old in what appeared to be a good deal for the Red Devils.

In hindsight, however, Ten Hag was perhaps too quick to give up on Elanga. The youngster has starred for a struggling Forest side, which makes one think that he could be even more devastating with better players (on paper) around him.

Elanga living up to his potential

The left-winger has quickly emerged as one of the Premier League's most useful players in his position. According to data experts SciSports, the former Red Devil has been one of the best wide players in the division this term.

SciSports have noticed a marked positive development in his ability over the last six months and it appears that Elanga is finally living up to the significant potential he showed in his younger years.

In fact, it is beyond doubt that the Swede would be an asset to Man Utd this term - he has as many goal contributions in the Premier League so far this season as Man Utd's attackers combined.

After notching a brace of assists against Newcastle on Boxing Day, Elanga now has five assists and four goals in 19 games. While far from a spectacular return, it is the same number as Anthony Martial, Rasmus Hojlund, Antony, Facundo Pellistri, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford have managed combined.