Anthony Elanga of Nottingham Forest applauds the fans after victory against Manchester United during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest FC and Manchester United FC at City Ground on April 01, 2025 in Nottingham, England.placeholder image
Anthony Elanga of Nottingham Forest applauds the fans after victory against Manchester United during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest FC and Manchester United FC at City Ground on April 01, 2025 in Nottingham, England. | Getty Images
Anthony Elanga is close friends with a member of Newcastle United’s squad.
Anthony Elanga has been spending time with a Newcastle United player this week - and there are no prizes for guessing who it is.
Newcastle want to sign Elanga this summer but a deal is proving difficult. Nottingham Forest recently rejected their £45million bid and insisted the winger is not for sale.
It comes after the 23-year-old scored six goals and registered 12 assists last season to help Forest finish 7th in the Premier League table and secure a Europa Conference League spot, as well as reach the semi-final of the FA Cup.
If a deal can be agreed - the Magpies aren’t giving up yet - then it’s understood that Elanga is open to a move. The Swede has already built some strong relationships at St James’ Park by being international teammates with Alexander Isak and Emil Krafth, and close friends with Will Osula.
And it is his social media interactions with Osula that continue to fuel the transfer speculation.
Anthony Elanga and Will Osula meet up
On one post, Elanga even appeared to acknowledge that by interacting with Osula he was sparking a reaction among Newcastle fans.
After scoring two goals in a 2-1 win over France, Osula wrote: “2 Goals ⚽️⚽️ GODS Work ✞Through to quarter-final.” Elanga then replied: “Not gonna say too much” before adding: “...Keep going ma boy 🔥.”
Staying true to that form, the pair have been at it again, this time on TikTok.
Enjoying some downtime before the 2025-26 Premier League season, Osula and Elanga are currently holidaying together in Monaco, with Osula uploading a video to his TikTok page of the two dancing.
To little surprise, the comments are again full of Newcastle fans urging Elanga to join while also nicknaming Osula as ‘Agent Osula’.
They’re clearly just good mates but when a potential transfer is at play, no one can say it doesn’t add intrigue.
Anthony Elanga has already addressed Newcastle United interest
Eddie Howe first became interested in Elanga last June when they asked for the player to be included in the PSR swindle that saw Elliot Anderson move to the City Ground.
However, after being met with a no, Newcastle were forced to accept Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos as part of the agreement instead. United then made another approach on summer deadline day but a deal was never close.
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Addressing the Newcastle links last year, Elanga said: “Isak talked to me about but I said the same to him as I say to you.
“We have a good relationship and good chemistry when we play together. But I have a contract with Nottingham. The environment in Nottingham is good. It is clear that you can see that Newcastle are interested, it means that I am playing good football when a big club shows interest.
“But Nottingham is also a big club, they have won two Champions Leagues, even though it was before I was born. But I’m happy in Nottingham and have a contract there. I’m focusing on Nottingham and hope to have a good season, then we’ll see what happens.”
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