My dad was a footballer, now I’m trying to outdo him after leaving Man Utd to become a Premier League star
ANTHONY ELANGA says he is trying to outdo his father as he looks to pile more misery on Erik ten Hag.
The Swedish international winger, 21, moved to Old Trafford aged 12 and progressed through the academy into the first-team.
Elanga scored three goals in 39 appearances in the Premier League for the Red Devils after initially making his breakthrough under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021.
He continued to get game time under his successor Ralf Rangnick and hoped to progress even further when Erik ten Hag took charge in the summer of 2022.
However, the Dutchman only started him five times last season and that lack of opportunity led to Elanga leaving United for Nottingham Forest last July in a £15m move.
Elanga has scored four goals and produced five assists so far to boost Forest’s fight for survival but this week their focus switches to the FA Cup.
And the star is adamant that he holds no grudge against Ten Hag ahead of the fifth round clash against his former club on Wednesday.
He told The Times: “Sometimes football is like that, it might not always work somewhere.
“I had seen what he did at Ajax so I was looking forward to it but I just didn’t get the opportunities.
“It was difficult [to leave] but it was needed because I wanted to play and I didn’t want to spend another season just playing ten minutes or not playing for ten games.
“I wanted a fresh start but I knew it wouldn’t be easy leaving a club that I had been at for nine years.”
Elanga has already come back to haunt United once as helped Forest to a 2-1 win over United in the top-flight back in December.
And he is desperate to show them again this week what he is capable of.
He said: “For me it’s about showing I can do it against any team. Especially coming up against your old team you want to show them even more that you can do it.
“I feel I need to keep in my lane and keep doing what I’m doing. The people on the outside don’t know me so I don’t listen to the external noise.
“I just stay inside and try and keep improving.”
Elanga also spoke about how he is his own toughest critic.
That mentality comes from growing up in an elite sporting environment under his father Joseph, who was also a professional footballer and even a former team-mate of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Malmo.
And Elanga says it was a goal from a young age to try and become a better player that his dad.
He added: “That isn’t being disrespectful but instead to see if I can outdo him.
“He showed me the levels he needed to get to where he was and I love challenges, so I thought maybe I can step that up a notch and I’m still growing and learning.”
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