Newcastle United's £55m man Anthony Elanga has lifted the lid about two emotive chapters of his Toon career so far
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Anthony Elanga has made it clear that Alexander Isak's controversial exit to Liverpool did not knock off his stride last summer.
Elanga arrived as a marquee £55m signing from Nottingham Forest and spoke glowingly about teaming up with Sweden international colleague Isak at the time. But the pair's time together lasted just a few days, as within hours of Elanga being presented to the media during an Austrian training camp, Isak had quit the squad to engineer a £125m move to Liverpool.
Elanga and Isak still remain big pals, but the winger says that his patchy form at the start of his Newcastle career was down to adapting to life on Tyneside. Head coach Eddie Howe stated that Newcastle fans needed to show Elanga more love after that tricky chapter, but his consolation goal against Man City could be the start of better days for the winger.
When asked about Isak's departure, Elanga told Chronicle Live: "I still get the opportunity to play with him for the national team. But it wasn't too difficult for me (Isak quitting).
"In football, when you move clubs, there's an adaptation period. There are different styles, different relationships on the pitch, but I see that as the norm.
"I am learning every single day. I just need to stay patient and committed; it will show in my performances on the pitch."
Newcastle go into the clash against Qarabag knowing a last 16 tie against Barcelona or Chelsea lies in wait. For Elanga he admits that the sky is the limit for this squad.
Elanga said: "This squad has huge potential, it is such a unique squad, it is one of the tightest ever been involved. We are all in it together. And that is showing on the pitch.
"We focus game by game, and we can't look too into the future, we have a really tough game against Qarabag here. Time will tell how far we go, or win it.
"This club is ambitious. And we don't come into competitions just to take part. We want to go as far as we possibly can. We have prepared well, and hopefully we can go out there and put on a performance."
Just 10 days ago Newcastle lost to Brentford and the players were booed off, sparking a crisis meeting behind the scenes. And Elanga revealed that the players have been playing for under fire Howe all the way through.
He said: "The players play for the coach. He has helped each and everyone one of us. If we remain consistent and maintain momentum. It is important to play for the manager. We have to let our football do the talking."
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