Eddie Howe is hopeful that Newcastle United star Anthony Elanga can “frighten” the opposition next season.
Much has been made about Newcastle United’s lack of firepower during pre-season.
Indeed, Callum Wilson left the club and Alexander Isak is trying to follow him, leaving only the inexperienced William Osula and Sean Neave as recognised central strikers.
That clearly is a worry heading into the Premier League season, although it’s not as if the Newcastle United squad doesn’t boast some dangerous attackers.
Elanga is one of them. The Sweden star scored against Arsenal in pre-season before making his home debut at St James’ Park in the Sela Cup defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
Newcastle paid £55million to sign Elanga from Nottingham Forest and Howe is excited about the impact he will bring in the season ahead.
Anthony Elanga passes a ball under pressure during Newcastle United vs Atletico Madrid.
Photo by Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Eddie Howe excited about Anthony Elanga
The 23-year-old, who registered 11 Premier League assists last season, gave fans a glimpse of his searing speed against Atletico in one particular lung-busting run.
After the game, the Newcastle United manager was asked about the former Manchester United youngster.
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Howe said: “I thought he had a good first half today. I thought when we got him the ball early, he showed his 1v1 ability and showed his pace.
“I thought he was a real threat. I think it’s for us to get to know his game a bit better and for him to understand what we do a little bit better.
“I think we’ll see a real player that can make a difference and frighten the opposition.”
Elanga got rave reviews from the Spanish media despite Newcastle’s loss to Atletico.
In fact, he was hailed as a “nightmare” for defenders, such is his ability to run at speed.
Pace isn’t the only aspect to his game of course. Those assist numbers will be very welcome at Newcastle.
While Jacob Murphy recorded more last season, he cannot be expected to translate that into the 2025/26 campaign as Howe’s side will be playing more games.
With that in mind, Elanga’s arrival feels like a big one. If Newcastle can sort the striker situation out, then he looks like he can flourish.
No one is going to like playing against a frontline boasting the speed of Elanga, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes.