MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ralf Rangnick has revealed he persuaded Anthony Elanga to stay at the club after he demanded a loan move.
The 19-year-old has been one of United’s best players recently, and scored just five minutes after coming on in the Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid.
Anthony Elanga is in fine form and has delighted boss Ralf RangnickCredit: Rex
But Elanga found chances in the first XI hard to come by under previous gaffer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, which prompted him to push for a loan move – with the Championship believed to be the chosen destination.
But Rangnick, 63, blocked his exit after being impressed with what he saw of the teenager in training.
Speaking after the Atletico game, the 63-year-old said: “Apart from his name, of course, I had heard about his name before but not as a player because he didn’t play for Manchester United.
“The first training session the night before the Crystal Palace game, he was the player with the best training performance.
“I asked my staff members about him and found out he had almost already decided to leave the club on loan.
“So a week after the Palace game I said, listen, I want you stay and see how you are doing in the training games until the end of the closure of the transfer window.
“I think right now he has just shown what is possible in football with the right mentality, the right approach, this is exactly what he did and what he always does in every training session.”
Elanga was named on the bench for the game in Spain, which might have surprised many United fans following his recent performances.
He scored in the 4-2 win against Leeds in the Premier League at the weekend and helped turn the game back in United’s favour.
Rangnick continued: “In all the games he has played so far, he just shows that he’s playing with all the passion and all the fun, he’s just enjoying himself on the pitch.
“He’s fully aware of his strengths, of his assets and his weapons. He is always trying to play and show those weapons. This is what he did today.
He’s fully aware of his strengths, of his assets and his weapons
Ralf RangnickOn Anthony Elanga
“Apart from the goal he scored, he had two or three great runs and whenever he did that you could all of a sudden see Atletico had problems with this kind of approach.
“But we have to show this with other positions as well, not only Anthony Elanga.
“We have to play like this in every single position and if we want to proceed in the qualifiers in the next few weeks at Old Trafford we have to play exactly like that.”
Rangnick is pleased with the progress shown by Anthony ElangaCredit: Getty
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