Anthony Elanga – Wikipedia

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Swedish footballer (born 2002)

Anthony David Junior Elanga (born 27 April 2002) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Manchester United and the Sweden national team.

Elanga joined the Manchester United youth system aged 12 and won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2020. He made his senior debut for the club in a Premier League game against Leicester City in May 2021. He represented Sweden at under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels, before making his senior national team debut in 2022.

Biography[edit]

Elanga was born in the Hyllie ward of Malmö (now part of Väster), Sweden, when his father Joseph Elanga was playing for Malmö FF. He is fluent in three languages: Swedish, English and French.[3][4]

Club career[edit]

Manchester United[edit]

Youth[edit]

After playing for IF Elfsborg and Malmö FF in Sweden,[5] Elanga’s family moved to England and settled in Manchester. Elanga briefly played for local club Hattersley, and was scouted by both Manchester City and Manchester United before joining United at the age of 12.[6][7]

Elanga made his debut for the Manchester United under-18s at the age of 15 in a 2–1 away defeat to Liverpool in April 2018.[8] He signed as an academy scholar at Manchester United in July 2018,[9] and scored four goals in 22 appearances in his first full season playing for the Under-18s.[10]

The following season, Elanga played twice for the Under-21s in the EFL Trophy, both as a substitute. He finished the COVID-shortened season as the Under-18s’ top scorer in the league with 7 goals in 9 appearances, and won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award.[11] He played four times for the club’s under-21 side in the 2020–21 EFL Trophy, scoring twice.

2020–21 season[edit]

Elanga made his first-team debut for United in a pre-season friendly against Aston Villa ahead of the 2020–21 Premier League season; he came on as a substitute for Marcus Rashford in the 75th minute of a 1–0 defeat. After signing a new long-term contract with the club in March 2021,[12] Elanga was called up to the first team for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League quarter-final matches against Granada in April 2021, but was an unused substitute in both legs, as well as in the second leg of the semi-final against Roma on 6 May. He made his competitive debut for the club on 11 May in a Premier League match against Leicester City.[3] Elanga was replaced by Marcus Rashford in the 66th minute as United lost 2–1.[13]

Elanga started once again, away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on the final day of the league season and scored his first senior Manchester United goal after just 13 minutes.[14]

2021–22 season[edit]

Elanga playing for Manchester United in 2022

Elanga scored his second league goal for Manchester United on 19 January 2022 in a 3–1 away win against Brentford,[15] his first of the season.[16] On 4 February that year, Elanga missed his team’s last penalty in a 8–7 shootout against Middlesbrough during their FA Cup tie, knocking Manchester United out of the Cup for the season.[17] In the aftermath of the game, Elanga was subjected to racially abusive messages on social media.[18] On 20 February, in a game against Leeds United, Elanga was hit on the head by an object thrown at him by a spectator. Minutes before the end of the game Elanga scored his second league goal of the season.[19] On 23 February, Elanga scored his first UEFA Champions League goal against Atlético Madrid in the Round of 16 first leg, the final score was 1–1.[20]

International career[edit]

Elanga was eligible to play for Sweden, Cameroon or England at international level.[21] He has represented Sweden at under-17, under-19, under-21 and senior levels.[22]

Elanga played five times for the Sweden under-17 team and scored two goals, both against France in the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[22] He played his first game for the Sweden under-21 team and scored one goal in a friendly against Finland on 3 June 2021.[23]

Elanga chose to represent Sweden at a senior level, citing being born and having spent the majority of his life there, as well as the country meaning a lot to him as the reasons behind his decision.[24] He was named in the international squad of Janne Andersson for the World Cup qualifiers against the Czech Republic in March 2022, where he also made his debut as a late-game substitute.[25][26]

Elanga scored his first goal at senior international level on 5 June 2022 in a 1–2 loss against Norway in a 2022–23 UEFA Nations League B game.[27]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played 16 March 2023

International[edit]

As of match played 19 November 2022[32]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Sweden 2022 9 1
Total 9 1

Scores and results list Sweden’s goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elanga goal.

Honours[edit]

Manchester United

Individual

References[edit]

  1. ^ “2021/22 Premier League squads confirmed”. Premier League. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b “Anthony Elanga: Overview”. Premier League. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b Wood, Liam (11 May 2021). “Who is Anthony Elanga? Manchester United youngster in profile as he makes debut vs Leicester City”. Manchester Evening News.
  4. ^ Fagerlund, Frida (25 February 2022). “Så blev Anthony Elanga Sveriges nya stjärna – var nära att lämna Manchester United”. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  5. ^ “Elanga efter landslagsdebuten” [Elanga after the national team debut]. svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Svenska Fotbollförbundet (SvFF). 5 September 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. ^ “Elanga efter landslagsdebuten – Svensk fotboll”. svenskfotboll.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  7. ^ ““Otroligt hög nivå – jag har inga ord för det”“ [“Incredibly high level – I have no words for it”]. aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  8. ^ Marshall, Adam (16 August 2018). “Lessons learned ahead of Liverpool”. ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  9. ^ Marshall, Adam (6 July 2018). “United’s academy intake for 2018/19”. ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  10. ^ Marshall, Adam (20 June 2019). “Elanga learns from tournament experience”. ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  11. ^ Marshall, Adam (17 September 2020). “Elanga wins prestigious Jimmy Murphy award”. ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  12. ^ “Elanga signs new United contract”. ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  13. ^ Stone, Simon (11 May 2021). “Man City Premier League champions as Leicester City beat Manchester United”. BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  14. ^ Rose, Gary (23 May 2021). “Wolves 1–2 Manchester United: Nuno Espirito Santo beaten in final game”. BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  15. ^ “Brentford v Man Utd, 2021/22”. Premier League. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  16. ^ McNulty, Phil (19 January 2022). “Brentford 1–3 Man Utd: Marcus Rashford gives visitors comfortable win”. BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  17. ^ Stone, Simon (4 February 2022). “Man Utd stunned by Middlesbrough after FA Cup shootout defeat”. BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  18. ^ “Anthony Elanga: Manchester United player racially abused after penalty miss in FA Cup exit”. BBC Sport. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  19. ^ Fältskär, Cesar (20 February 2022). “Anthony Elanga målskytt mot Leeds i Premier League”. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  20. ^ Bernstein, Dan (23 February 2022). “Watch: Elanga scores Man Utd equaliser against Atletico Madrid in Champions League last 16”. Goal.com. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  21. ^ “Så påverkar Victor Nilsson Lindelöf talangens landslagsval” [This is how Victor Nilsson Lindelöf influences the talent’s national team choice]. aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 5 June 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  22. ^ a b “Anthony Elanga – Spelarstatistik”. Svensk Fotboll (SvFF). Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  23. ^ “United-talangens nya succé – slår till för Sverige”. www.aftonbladet.se.
  24. ^ Flinck, Johan (22 March 2022). “Fotbolls-VM: Anthony Elanga: “Därför valde jag Sverige”“. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  25. ^ “Sveriges trupp till VM-playoff – Anthony Elanga uttagen” (in Swedish). Expressen. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  26. ^ “Sverige är klart för play-off-final till VM 2022. Vann mot Tjeckien” (in Swedish). Expressen. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  27. ^ a b “1–2 förlust mot Norge”. Svensk Fotboll (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  28. ^ “Games played by Anthony Elanga in 2019/2020”. Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  29. ^ a b “Games played by Anthony Elanga in 2020/2021”. Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  30. ^ “Games played by Anthony Elanga in 2021/2022”. Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  31. ^ “Games played by Anthony Elanga in 2022/2023”. Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  32. ^ “Anthony Elanga”. EU-Football.info. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  33. ^ Stone, Simon (26 May 2021). “Villarreal 1–1 Manchester United (11–10 on pens): David de Gea spot kick saved in epic Europa League final shootout”. BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  34. ^ Marshall, Adam (17 September 2020). “Anthony Elanga wins Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year”. ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 17 January 2022.

External links[edit]

  • Profile at the Manchester United F.C. website
  • Profile at the Swedish Football Association website