Newcastle United fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Everton at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon, and Eddie Howe will surely have now had enough of giving Anthony Elanga opportunities to shine.
The Magpies fell behind after 19 minutes through Jarrad Branthwaite, but equalised through summer signing Jacob Ramsey just after the half-hour mark. However, less than 90 seconds later the team were behind again, with Beto netting after a huge Nick Pope error.
Newcastle continued to push for an equaliser in the second half and it finally arrived in the 82nd minute thanks to substitute Jacob Murphy, but just 72 seconds later they were behind again through Thierno Barry, and the Toffees held on for all three points.
But while the defence had a stinker of a showing over 90 minutes, Howe will undoubtedly be more disappointed and annoyed with his forwards for not delivering when they needed to, and that starts with Elanga.
Elanga a Waste of Money
Anthony Elanga
Sweden international Elanga made the move to Newcastle last summer in a deal worth £55m from Nottingham Forest, after a sensational campaign last year where it looked like he was ready to explode and reach his potential.
But his season so far for the Magpies has been nothing short of a disaster, managing just one goal and one assist in 38 appearances for the club. That return was summed up against Everton, where he turneed in a true stinker once again.
According to Sofascore, he 23-year-old failed to complete a single one of his four cross attempts, while he also managed to accrue just 0.02 xG during the game. Elanga also lost possession ten times before being substituted on 56 minutes by Howe. All of that earned him a 4/10 rating from the Shields Gazzette.
For £55m, the club expected Elanga to come in and hit the ground running, especially considering the fact he has both Premier League and Champions League experience. However, he has done the exact opposite, and the board and Howe are surely scratching their heads and wishing they spent the money elsewhere now.
Elanga Worse Than Woltemade
nick woltemade
After arriving in a club-record deal to replace Alexander Isak, there has been a lot of criticism for the form of Nick Woltemade this season. But he showed his quality in the early stages of the campaign, and is going through a purple patch in a new league, and in a new country.
Elanga has no such excuse, and his deal was an incredibly expensive one too. While he is still young, his performance levels this season will raise major question marks about whether he is good enough for this level.
The more he plays, the more it seems like he isn't, and with the club running out of time to get results and climb up the table, Howe must seriously consider leaving him out of the lineup for the remainder of the campaign.
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