Anthony Elanga is officially a Newcastle United player as supporters eagerly await an announcement from the club.
Elanga arrived in Newcastle on Tuesday to complete his medical and finalise a £55million move from Nottingham Forest.
Now it’s Friday, Elanga is already a couple of days into his five-year deal at St James’ Park and the transfer is still yet to be announced by the club.
But anyone trawling through social media this week will know the fact Elanga is a Newcastle player is one of the worst-kept secrets in football.
Anthony Elanga leaked Newcastle United images
A leaked image has surfaced on social media showing Elanga in the Newcastle first-team dressing room at the training ground meeting some of his new teammates.
The image, shared by @Im_RobM on X, shows Elanga greeting Harvey Barnes while stood next to his new right-wing competition in Jacob Murphy.
Matt Targett, Sean Longstaff and John Ruddy are also seen watching on. Ruddy’s contract at Newcastle expired on June 30, but he is understood to have agreed a new deal.
Ruddy’s contract is also yet to be announced by Newcastle.
To add further fuel to the fanfare surrounding Elanga’s arrival, a second image was leaked on social media showing the winger in a 2025/26 Newcastle Adidas home shirt while holding up another shirt with ‘Elanga’ on the back. His squad number is yet to be confirmed.
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Elanga is Newcastle’s first major arrival of the summer with an official announcement pending. He is set to be part of the squad for the pre-season opener at Celtic on July 19 (3pm kick-off). Newcastle will then have a training camp in Austria before travelling to Singapore to face Arsenal and then South Korea for matches against a K-League XI and Tottenham Hotspur.
Newcastle’s pre-season concludes with a Sela Cup weekend double header against Espanyol on August 8 and Atletico Madrid on August 9 at St James’ Park.
Anthony Elanga NUFC’s top target
Forest are very reluctant sellers of Elanga after the winger scored six and assisted 12 goals for the club last season. The 23-year-old has had two strong campaigns at the City Ground since his £15million move from Manchester United in 2023.
Since then, he has scored 11 goals and assisted 21 in 82 appearances for Forest.
The Swedish international’s pace and creativity has made him among the top targets for Eddie Howe over the past year.
Newcastle had conversations to sign Elanga last summer but were ultimately unsuccessful but have now secured their man.
Now, The Magpies will be looking to sign a goalkeeper, centre-back and striker while uncertainty over Sean Longstaff’s future brings the midfield into sharper focus as an area to strengthen.
Newcastle will be looking to build on a very successful 2024/25 season which saw them win the Carabao Cup for the first time while also qualifying for the Champions League.
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