Alan Shearer has reacted to Newcastle United’s £55m move for Anthony Elanga as the club prepare to announce his arrival from Nottingham Forest any minute now.
The 23-year-old touched down via a private jet on Tuesday after a fee was agreed on Monday, with Sky Sports and Fabrizio Romano since reporting that his medical has been completed with no complications.
Elanga is set to sign a five-year deal at the club and Toon legend Alan Shearer believes he’ll be a “good signing”, feeling it’s a strong start to the window before backing us to go on and sign another three or four.
Our former No. 9 has praised his “rapid” pace and thinks he’ll combine “really, really well” with fellow countryman Alexander Isak, feeling we now have strong options on both wings with Elanga joining Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.
Speaking on the Rest Is Football Podcast, Shearer said: “Very happy, I said the other day I was a little bit concerned with the lack of activity coming out of Newcastle, but it looks as if things are starting to move. I’m pretty sure we’ll get it over the line.
“I think it’s a good signing. He is rapid, he’ll work really, really well with Isak because they’ll obviously know each other. So yeah, really happy with that.”
“When you look at who they’ll have, Murphy and Elanga on the right side. They’ve got Barnes and Gordon left side. Isak up top. I’m happy with that.
“Because of the Callum Wilson’s not renewing his contract, they are going to need another player in that forward position, but that’s a really good start (to the window), I think. I think they’ll get another three or four in.”
With Elanga now all but done, attention could now turn to recruiting a new forward, while the other two arrivals Shearer hints at should come in goal and at centre-back, with a midfielder also one to watch should Sean Longstaff leave.
Discussing our summer so far just last week, Shearer raised a couple of early concerns, feeling the mixture of no new signings and uncertainty in two executive roles was a slight worry:
“I am a bit (concerned)” Shearer said on the previous Rest Is Football Podcast earlier this month. “There’s no sporting director, is there? The chief executive [Darren Eales] is going.”
“They lost out on (Bryan) Mbeumo, they lost out on (Joao) Pedro, they were heavily linked with James Trafford.
He ended with, “I would like to see a little bit more activity in Newcastle,” but these fears have been eased a week later, with Elanga on Tyneside and set to be announced imminently.