Anthony Elanga says his focus is purely on what he can control as he tried to push Newcastle transfer talk to one side.
The Nottingham Forest winger is the subject of transfer speculation again, with Newcastle following up last summer’s deadline-day bid with renewed interest this summer.
It’s reported that discussions have been held between the two clubs over Elanga, with a fee of £50m required for a deal to be considered.
The news broke on Friday night, as Elanga representing Sweden in their 2-0 win over Hungary.
The Newcastle transfer interest was put to Elanga after the game, and he told Swedish newspaper Expressen: “There is a lot of talk. I focus on what I can do and my focus today was on the match. In football there are always rumours. The most important thing is that I focus on what I can control.
“I guess there will always be scouts wherever I play. As long as I stay focused and do my best in the match.
“I just keep my focus and what I can control. That's what I can do on and off the field. I focus on the next day and action. That's what I can do.”
Elanga played up front for Sweden on Friday, with both Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres both missing.
He didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he came close, seeing one effort ruled out for offside while also hitting the crossbar.
While Elanga felt it was “probably my best international match so far”, he did acknowledge he “could have scored four goals”.
So when he was asked if he expected Newcastle striker Isak to be in touch and to try to persuade him to join Newcastle, it allowed Elanga to joke back: “He must have tried to call me about the match, that I should have scored.”
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