Nottingham Forest are close to completing a £15million deal for Manchester United forward Anthony Elanga.
The 21-year-old Sweden international was a great admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo, with the two players Old Trafford teammates prior to the latter ending his relationship with United by mutual consent in November last year.
Elanga has been a peripheral figure under Erik ten Hag and has started just one match this calendar year – the EFL Cup victory at home to Charlton in January. Having been handed his debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and a regular under interim coach Ralf Rangnick, his United career had fizzled out.
The forward is currently in the United States with United for pre-season but it is understood he will return home for a medical. Elanga did not find the net for the Red Devils last season but had attracted interest from multiple clubs, but it is Forest who look set to clinch his signature.
The admiration that Elanga had for Ronaldo and his work rate was clear, adding: “He means a lot to me. He has helped me a lot not only on the pitch but off it as well. He is an inspiration, not only to me but to all the young players at United. Sometimes it’s just me and him at the gym.”
Elanga continued on whether his opinion of the Portuguese star had changed following the manner of his Old Trafford exit: “No, not so much. Because when I’m with him, he hasn’t changed. He is still Cristiano Ronaldo to me. He has helped me a lot.”
Elanga had agreed with Ronaldo, 38, when the Portuguese superstar criticised young players’ attitude at Old Trafford prior to his exit. Ronaldo’s bombshell interview with Piers Morgan ultimately led to his exit from Manchester but they were shared by his former teammate.
Ronaldo said: “The hunger. They [young players] have things more easily. Everything is easy. They don’t suffer, they don’t care. I don’t mean just Man United, but all teams. They are not the same as my generation.
“But we cannot blame them. It is part of the life of the new generation, the new technologies which distract them from other things. They are not the same. They listen, but they hear one side [and it goes out the other ear]. It doesn’t surprise me, but it is a shame.
If they have the best examples in front of them if they don’t at least copy what you did, it’s kind of weird.”
While those comments may have drawn a degree of controversy, Ronaldo’s former teammate Elanga, 20, admitted that he understood the criticisms. The Sweden international forward said: “Cristiano talks about young players in general.
“We are a new generation. I am always 100 per cent focused on what I am doing, but I can understand what he is saying.
“There are a lot of phones and a lot of technology. It’s quite easy for young players to get distracted and lose focus. I always focus 100 per cent on my job and what I do. Young players at United are listening, but I can understand what he is saying.”
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