Manchester United have been in contact with Barcelona over a potential loan move for Anthony Elanga, confirms Relevo journalist Matteo Moretto. The Swedish midfielder who reportedly earns £43k a week appears to be set to stay at Old Trafford after failing to organise a move for himself.
Manchester United Were Contacted by Barcelona for Anthony Elanga
🚨🚨🌕| #mufc and Barcelona have indeed been in contact for Anthony Elanga, but a deal will NOT happpen. [@MatteMoretto]
— centredevils. (@centredevils) January 31, 2023
Anthony Elanga Set for United Stay After Barcelona Loan Move Falls Through
It has also been reported that Barcelona did consider Elanga as an option to bolster their squad with a loan move, after being informed by La Liga that they had a small space in their salary structure to register new signings. However, Moretto added that despite concrete contact being held between both clubs, a deal will not happen this late into the window.
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Barcelona might’ve seen Elanga as a potential short-term replacement for Ousmane Dembele, who is injured for the next month or so after picking up a knock recently. United are reported to have received more than 10 loan bids for the Swedish winger in January, including from Borussia Dortmund. The only reason why they did not pull the trigger on his exit is because manager Erik ten Hag wants a sufficient number of options in every position of the pitch in his squad.
Elanga Struggling for Minutes Under Ten Hag at United
The 20-year-old has seen his role restricted to that of a bench player at Old Trafford and that has seen him get little game-time for the Red Devils. He has made 20 appearances for United, but that includes only eight starts. Elanga is also yet to complete 90 minutes in a game under Ten Hag, and he has not scored a goal for his club this season either.
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The Swedish winger was once praised as a ‘great talent‘ by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and tipped to have a bright future ahead of him. But with the quality of competition at Old Trafford and Ten Hag’s strict ways, Elanga is being used mostly as an impact substitute in a variety of roles in the frontline and is yet to make any major impact for his side this season.
