Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Anthony Elanga
Anthony Elanga looked up to Cristiano Ronaldo in their united days
When Anthony Elanga missed a decisive penalty in the 2022 FA Cup shoot-out defeat to Middlesbrough, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who had a word in the ear and an arm round the shoulder leaving the pitch.
Fast-forward a couple of months and Ronaldo, having converted an Elanga cross to score against Norwich City in April 2022, celebrated in his iconic style and invited the Swede to join him. When Ronaldo criticised the attitude of young players in general during his explosive interview with Piers Morgan that hastened his United exit, Elanga responded and said he understood where the Portugal great was coming from.
The two shared a position, an outlook and a work ethic, with Ronaldo taking Elanga under his wing during their time together in Manchester. Both have departed over the last couple of seasons but while Ronaldo's exit spawned headline after headline, Elanga's went a little more under the radar as he moved to Nottingham Forest.
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That all changed last season, though, when Elanga emerged as one of Forest's brightest lights as they avoided relegation from the Premier League.
His five goals and nine assists saw Forest move away from relegation trouble and prompted Newcastle United to launch a £50million bid to sign the Swedish international in the summer
While he hasn't quite caught fire as much this season, he remains a pivotal player for Forest and his performances have led some to wonder whether United could have utilised him in their side this season given their attacking woes both last season and this term.
In total he played 55 times for United, scoring four goals, but was mainly restricted to substitute appearances under Erik ten Hag. Given United's struggles in attack, it's not inconceivable that the Swede could have forced the manager's hand and his way into the side last term, in similar fashion to Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire who could easily have departed alongside him in the summer of 2023.
But with Rashford a shoo-in when the season started given his form the previous season and Ten Hag having splashed out £150million on Antony and Hojlund opportunities looked to be scarce. United also had Alejandro Garnacho, arguably a player with a higher ceiling than Elanga, coming through and competing.
Now under Ruben Amorim, Elanga would have been a candidate to play as a wing-back or as one of the inverted attacking midfielders in his 3-4-3 system. That said, not many queried the decision to sell in the summer and Elanga doesn't regret leaving.
"When I make a decision I stick by it. I have not regretted that decision one bit," he said in an interview with Mail Online earlier this campaign.
Elanga departed for £15m having come through the ranks at Old Trafford. He was spotted playing for Hattersley United at junior level and courted by Manchester City as well as United. He rose through the ranks to win the coveted Jimmy Murphy award, following in the footsteps of Ryan Giggs and Rashford.
Impressive showings in the Academy led to a first-team debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and he was handed a run of games by Ralf Rangnick. It was a huge opportunity for Elanga to absorb and develop with Ronaldo to the fore.
"I have learnt from arguably the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo," he added. "I have learnt from Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Varane, Casemiro, I can go through the whole team because they are all world-class players not just what they do on the pitch but off the pitch as well with their discipline and how they look after themselves."
Elanga is now striking out on his own and striking fear into opponents. Ronaldo held him in high regard and he's starting to show why. United have their own star of the future in Garnacho but Elanga's is burning brightly just now.
United will hope it is a decision they don't live to regret when the two sides meet at Old Trafford on Saturday.