Anthony Elanga has potential to be ‘worst-ever’ Newcastle signing but here’s why fans shouldn’t lose hope

Anthony Elanga’s start at Newcastle United has been anything but stellar.

In fact, given the £55million transfer fee and that a new right winger was so important for the Magpies, Newcastle needed him to hit the ground running, but he hasn’t.

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To be abundantly clear, the Toon have 100 per cent had worse players represent the club.

Anyone remember Fabrice Pancrate or Jean-Alain Boumsong?

But because the position was so important and because Newcastle are restricted by PSR, they can’t afford any misses in the transfer market.

And at the moment, this is a huge miss.

In 26 games across all competitions, the Swedish international has no goals and one assist.

He did win a penalty in a 4-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League, which is counted as an assist by some websites but not others.

But even with that, the numbers aren’t great.

Football isn’t all about numbers, but Elanga is struggling to do the basics right, and an awful display in the derby against Sunderland hasn’t helped either.

We are looking at a player who thrived at Nottingham Forest last season and looked electric at times.

He played a huge role in Forest claiming European football last year with over 15 direct goal contributions in 38 Premier League games.

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The former Manchester United winger is also a player who has been scouted extensively by Eddie Howe and Newcastle, with the club trying to buy him twice in the 2024/25 season.

When they finally got their man for £55million in the summer, in many ways, it looked to be the perfect fit, and most Newcastle fans were extremely happy to sign him.

There were big expectations that this was the player that the Magpies had needed on the right.

For years, Newcastle had Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy as their wingers on the right.

Almiron always grafted for the team and played a huge role in Champions League qualification during the 2022/23 season, but he was always seen as a player who could be upgraded upon.

Murphy also had a stellar campaign last year, providing Alexander Isak with numerous chances at goal consistently.

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But again, there are other areas of his game that are lacking.

So, the expectation was that Elanga would be an immediate upgrade, and instead, he’s looking lost.

On the latest episode of talkSPORT’s Inside The Toon, Elanga’s form was discussed in detail.

Host Olly Clink asked about Elanga, and I said: “Elanga is, at the moment, looking like potentially one of our worst-ever signings.

“But I am saying just at the moment. We’ve seen Lewis Hall took a while to develop and grow into a really good player.

“Anthony Gordon took a while as well. You have got to give him time, but what I am struggling with is I am not even seeing the basics.

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“Five-yard passes, he can’t do. He’s not running at anyone. He’s not using his pace.

“He seems so short of confidence and any belief in his own ability that he can change a game or even keep the ball.

“He’s working hard and tracking back, but for £55m, one assist in 26 games isn’t enough when right wing has been a position we have wanted to change for ages.”

And to show how badly Elanga is struggling, Adam Clery from the Adam Clery Football Channel had some very interesting statistics.

“They did spectacularly overpay for Elanga, and they didn’t buy somebody who is an immediate plug-in that raises the level.

“They bought a bit of a project. They bought someone with really good raw ingredients doing a really specific job at Nottingham Forest.

“The numbers are staggeringly bad.

“He is in the bottom one per cent for take-ons in the Premier League this season. The bottom one per cent – there isn’t a number lower than that.

“But it is early days. He’s had 11 starts, and they clearly haven’t settled on what the best use of him is.”

Don’t give up yet

Despite this negativity around Elanga, and rightfully so because he isn’t playing well, Toon fans shouldn’t give up on him.

Howe has asked for the supporters to show him love, and players have admitted in the past that it takes a while to learn what the English manager demands of his team.

His teams are tactically very well drilled, and it can’t just be learned over night by every player.

We have also seen other Newcastle signings since the takeover grow immensely.

Lewis Hall was like a little boy when he first joined the Magpies, and now, there are shouts for him to be England’s starting left-back.

He has grown incredibly as a footballer and will almost certainly be going to the World Cup.

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Anthony Gordon’s first six months as a Toon player were also underwhelming to say the least.

After splashing out £45m on the winger, he couldn’t really get in the team as the Magpies stormed towards the Champions League.

But the following year, Gordon was electric and headed to Euro 2024 as England’s most in-form winger only to barely play.

These are two examples of players who have taken time to adapt to Howe and Newcastle’s very specific style of play.

However, as Clery says, the winger also needs to grab his opportunities when he gets them.

“When he starts, that is on him to go and show what he can do.

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“‘I may not be the finished article, but watch me do this.’

“He has to now take a bit of responsibility because clearly the club have had six months to work on him, but those 11 starts, he would argue that’s not a massive run of games, especially when he has been in and out.

“He now has to go and do something.”

The early signs have been more than concerning for Elanga, but other recent Toon signings have bounced back from poor starts.

He has to take encouragement from that, because if he can’t, this will be Newcastle’s worst-ever Premier League transfer once you take into account the fee, PSR and the positional importance.