Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga had a weekend to remember in the Premier League.
The 22-year-old bagged twice for Forest in a 4-2 win over Ipswich Town and remarkably it was the first time that Elanga has scored twice in a game.
Elanga was praised by Alan Shearer for his efforts and it was a performance to be proud of by the Sweden international.
When it comes to international football, the Forest man will be desperate to make a return over the next fortnight.
Elanga wasn’t on speaking terms with Jon Dahl Tomasson after he omitted him from his squad earlier in the season amid some sporadic form.
Now, all seems to be forgiven and Elanga was called up by Sweden last week following a return to form for the flying forward.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Jon Dahl Tomasson could play Anthony Elanga in unusual position
The national team head coach has been discussing a recall for Elanga and he’s made a surprising claim.
Elanga has been given a bit more of a free role by Nuno Espirito Santo in recent weeks and on Saturday that paid dividends as he destroyed Ipswich through the middle.
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Now, Tomasson has suggested that he might even utilise him in a really strange position when it comes to picking his Sweden team this week.
He told Fotbollskanalen: “Which position is very interesting because we watch all of his games, he’s played to the left, he’s played to the right, he’s been playing around the big striker as well and he’s been moving in the free role.
“So we could play him as one of two strikers, I think also one of the wing-backs could be an option too depending on who we are playing, it’s always a possibility.
“He’s flexible and the way he’s been playing, the running in behind has been really good. He’s very flexible.”
Anthony Elanga stats 2024/25
The winger has been fantastic since Christmas and a late winning goal against Aston Villa appears to have done wonders for his confidence.
Now, Elanga is back on the international stage and it was somewhat baffling that he was dropped in the first place.
Anthony Elanga stats 2024/25 Total
Appearances 29
Goals 5
Assists 8
Key Passes 39
Dribbles 60
Anthony Elanga Premier League stats 2024/25
The Sweden squad will be better with Elanga being involved and surely, Tomasson will give him plenty of action in the coming weeks.
The former Manchester United man was in fine form at the weekend and now, it’s exciting to see where he will feature for Sweden – even if he does get the nod as a wing-back!