Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has welcomed a fresh face through the door in the form of Anthony Elanga
Anthony Elanga meeting Newcastle United Head Coach Eddie Howe
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has certainly had to be patient when it comes to waiting for top talent to arrive through the doors of St James' Park of late.
Armed with a talent-laden team capable of domestic cup wins and European qualification, the Magpies' chief has admittedly still had to work his magic with a squad of players that has not been strengthened in two years.
Howe made his feelings clear after the final game of the season, telling reporters on Tyneside that speed was the key word when attacking the current transfer window. Fast forward to this week and sections of the fanbase had started to panic as a deal for Anthony Elanga dragged on and the boss' wishes for swift business in this window failed to be met.
However, there was no real need to worry. Elanga's deal had been wrapped up on Tuesday before his official announcement arrived on Friday evening. For Howe, who met the £55m signing at Newcastle's Benton training base this week, the deal represents a huge success given the manager's long-held admiration for Elanga's ability.
"I'm delighted to welcome Anthony to Newcastle United," Howe said upon confirmation of the transfer. "He has been a key target for us so I'm delighted to secure him at this early part of pre-season.
"He is an exciting talent with attributes that make him a unique attacking threat. His pace, energy and ability to create and score goals will strengthen us and complement the way we want to play.
"Anthony is hungry to develop even further with us and to achieve success here, and we’re all looking forward to working with him."
Elanga will now get to work getting up to speed with his co-stars on Tyneside as he begins life as Newcastle player. The Swede has already met his new team-mates in recent days and is line to feature heavily during the club's pre-season plans.
Meanwhile, a squad number has yet to be dished out to Elanga and will be decided later in pre-season. The likes of 15, 16 and 24 are up for grabs, while some have suggested the winger could take Alexander Isak's number 14 should the striker decide to become Newcastle's next number 9.
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