Newcastle United expected to make ‘improved’ move for ex-Man Utd star with 78 Premier League appearances

Newcastle United are expected to return to the table with an improved offer for Nottingham Forest star Anthony Elanga, according to reports from Football Insider.

The 18-time Sweden international was reportedly the subject of two failed bids on deadline day as the Magpies made a last ditch attempt to try and strengthen their right sided attacking options.

Sky Sports revealed with seven hours to go on deadline day that Forest had rebuffed an offer in the region of £35m for the youngster and have since reported that a further offer worth a potential £50m was also declined in the final hours of the window.

Newcastle have strengthened almost all areas of the pitch since the Saudi-backed PIF takeover in October 2021 but are still reliant on the same two wingers in Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy that they had during both Steve Bruce and Rafael Benitez’s time at the club. Elanga, at 22-years of age, is a younger alternative to Murphy and Almiron, and a player with significant potential to improve in the future.

The Malmo born winger was brought to England by Manchester United when he was just 12-year-old and went on to win the Under-21 Young Player of the Year award in 2020 as a teenager to follow in the footsteps of players such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and more recently Kobbie Mainoo.

He provided three goals and three assists in 39 league appearances for the Red Devils, with the bulk of those coming from the subs bench, before completing a £15m move to Nottingham Forest last summer.

Elanga’s electric pace and ability to run at defenders made him an asset for Nottingham Forest and he ended his first season with five goals and nine assists in 36 league appearances. The Swede’s form over the last 12 months has made him a standout target for Newcastle, who are also aware that Elanga would be classed as a homegrown talent due to the time he spent in Manchester United’s youth system.

The Athletic’s Daniel Taylor described it as a statement of ambition from Forest to retain Elanga’s services on deadline day, but Football Insider believes that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side would be more likely to do business if they were presented with adequate time to find a replacement early in January.

Newcastle’s failure to land a marquee signing left fans frustrated at the end of the window, with many including Alan Shearer describing it as a missed opportunity. In the end, the Magpies made a profit of around £30m during the summer following the sales of Yankuba Minteh to Brighton and Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest.

However, they were still able to add the likes of Lewis Hall, Lloyd Kelly, Odysseas Vlachodimos, John Ruddy and William Osula to their existing crop of players.