Following Anthony Elanga's move from Nottingham Forest to Newcastle United, football writer Ninad Barbadikar explains why the Sweden winger could be a perfect fit for Eddie Howe's side.
Anthony Elanga is officially a Newcastle United player.
After a career-best season during the 2024/25 campaign where he scored six times and assisted a further 11 for Nottingham Forest, the speedy Swede moves to Tyneside. There, he will play UEFA Champions League football with his compatriot Alexander Isak.
Elanga arrives as a marquee acquisition in that right-wing area for Eddie Howe’s team, where they already have Jacob Murphy, who also had a career-best 2024/25 campaign.
Murphy scored eight and assisted 12, making him one of the most productive wingers in the Premier League last season.
So where does Elanga fit into the equation, and why could he be the perfect signing for Newcastle?
The journey to St James’ Park
Elanga made his Premier League debut as an 18-year-old under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, progressing through the ranks at Manchester United. Looking poised for a breakout campaign in 2021/22, Elanga went on to thrive and make a strong impression under interim boss Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford, who saw a great deal of potential in him.
The teenager then scored key goals during that season in his limited appearances, including a goal in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid in the round-of-16 first leg. In that same week, he had netted against Leeds United as well.
Elanga ended the season with 14 starts as well as four goals and assists in that time. However, opportunities were limited under Erik ten Hag in the next campaign, and even more so with the arrival of Brazil winger Antony. When Forest came calling in the summer of 2023, that’s where things took a turn for the better.
Moving to Forest allowed Elanga to play for a team that suited his strengths more, and regular minutes in the starting XI only served to improve his physical fitness for the pace of the Premier League.
The very evidence of that is his output during the 2023/24 season when he scored five times and registered nine assists.
Watch Elanga's best moments at Forest
What Newcastle fans are getting now is a version of Elanga that is perfect for their style and the way Howe wants his teams to dominate.
So, how does Elanga compare with Murphy?
Tailor-made for Newcastle’s style
A cursory glance at their advanced individual metrics from last season shows Murphy performing significantly better than Elanga.
Murphy has just had the most productive campaign of his career as a Newcastle player, in this ninth year on the books of the Magpies, including two seasons back-to-back on loan in the Championship.
Elanga v Murphy attacking threat comparison 24/25
| Metric | Elanga | Murphy |
| Open-play shots | 1.58 | 1.63 |
|---|---|---|
| Open-play Expected Assists | 0.18 | 0.23 |
| Open-play Expected Goals | 0.16 | 0.22 |
| Open-play crosses | 2.73 | 4.50 |
| Progressive carries | 7.40 | 6.51 |
| Open-play chances created | 1.79 | 1.59 |
| Possession won | 3.20 | 3.71 |
Murphy was far from Howe’s first choice at the start of the campaign, but fought his way into the starting XI and kept his place, not just because of his end-product, but because of his intensity out of possession as well, something that contributes to Howe’s success overall.
At 23, Elanga is seven years younger than 30-year-old Murphy, and his underlying numbers paint the picture of a player who could be a good fit for Newcastle. The Swede progressed the ball up the pitch with his carries on average more often than Murphy, while also averaging more chances created per match.
Looking more broadly at the team's performances last season, Newcastle were one of the most direct sides across the board. This is also a reputation that Nuno Espirito Santo has built for Forest since he has taken over at the club.
When compared to the 2023/24 campaign, Newcastle’s figures show that Howe’s team are looking to get faster, more incisive, and continue to leverage their physical superiority to hurt teams.
Newcastle's direct attacking threat 23/24 v 24/25
| Metric | 23/24 | PL rank | 24/25 | PL rank |
| Direct attacks | 79 | 6th | 81 | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct speed (m/s)* | 1.70 | 14th | 1.78 | 8th |
| Passes per sequence/90 | 3.70 | 9th | 3.65 | 10th |
| Sequence time/90 | 10.31 | 8th | 10.05 | 12th |
*Metres per second
This is where the fastest Premier League winger from 2024/25 factors into the equation.
Elanga the sprint sensation
Shown below is a table of the fastest players from last season and the games they achieved their speed record in.
Not only was Elanga the joint second-fastest overall, he’s also the only name to feature twice in top 10 of quickest sprints during 2024/25.
Top 20 fastest PL sprints 24/25
| Player | Match | Top speed (km/h) |
| Van de Ven | MUN v TOT | 37.12 |
|---|---|---|
| Elanga | NFO v MUN | 36.65 |
| Mbeumo | EVE v BRE | 36.65 |
| Forbs | BRE v WOL | 36.58 |
| Minteh | MUN v BHA | 36.40 |
| Odobert | AVL v TOT | 36.36 |
| Khusanov | NFO v MCI | 36.29 |
| Elanga | BOU v NFO | 36.22 |
| Agbadou | NEW v WOL | 36.14 |
| Haaland | TOT v MCI | 36.00 |
| Elanga | NFO v CHE | 35.96 |
| Elanga | EVE v NFO | 35.93 |
| Elanga | LIV v NFO | 35.89 |
| Robinson | FUL v SOU | 35.86 |
| Elanga | NFO v NEW | 35.86 |
| Branthwaite | EVE v MUN | 35.86 |
| Livramento | NEW v BOU | 35.82 |
| Spence | TOT v CRY | 35.82 |
| Elanga | NOT v LEI | 35.82 |
| Lacroix | BHA v CRY | 35.82 |
Zoom further out, Elanga appears five times in the top 13 and seven times in the top 20. The Swede’s pace is going to be a huge asset for Newcastle.
It isn’t just the fact that Elanga is fast, the big factor is how that pace of his helps to create separation from a standing start, speeding away from markers, especially in transitions where every chance is worth its weight in gold.
His most rapid sprint during the season resulted in a memorable goal against former club Man Utd, which further underlined his threat in transition.
Premier League sprinting stats 24/25
| Player | % time spent sprinting* | Total sprints |
| Anthony Gordon | 1.13 | 782 |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Elanga | 1.11 | 730 |
| Darwin Nunez | 1.10 | 337 |
| Daniel Munoz | 1.06 | 907 |
| Antonee Robinson | 1.04 | 877 |
| Nicolas Jackson | 1.01 | 633 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 0.98 | 587 |
| Noni Madueke | 0.97 | 562 |
| Yankuba Minteh | 0.97 | 501 |
| Joe Willock | 0.95 | 271 |
*minimum 1,000 minutes played
Couple that speed with just how much time he spends sprinting, Elanga becomes even more than a handful for defenders to keep track of.
He recorded 730 sprints in 2024/25, the fourth-best in the league, however, what’s even more impressive is that he spent the second-most amount of time sprinting, just behind his new team-mate Anthony Gordon.
Watch Elanga's five fastest sprints of 24/25
Elanga’s execution at pace is another key aspect to his game. It is exactly what helped him to eight assists in 2025, more than any player managed since the start of the year.
He is a playmaker’s dream not just because of the speed of his execution, but also the willingness to keep running in behind time and again. Amongst all Forest players last season, Elanga accumulated 178 runs in behind, the next best was striker Chris Wood, with 140.
Elanga's touch map 24/25
Click here to zoom in on image.
A player of Elanga’s profile will consistently stretch defences because of that direct speedy threat in behind, which has already punished Premier League defences since he moved to Forest.
Two-way threat with both feet
One of the more interesting and exciting aspects to Elanga’s style of play as a winger is the two-footed nature of his actions.
The Swede has played on both flanks for Forest in the past two seasons and even played further up front alongside Wood last season. This kind of versatility makes him very useful, but even more so because of his ability to engage in duels and keep defenders guessing with his two-footed style.
Elanga's chances created 24/25
Click here to zoom in on image.
Due to his low centre of gravity as well, Elanga rarely needs any time at all to adjust his orientation whilst dribbling and can use either foot to cross the ball or take a shot. This is valuable time saved in transitions especially when defenders are retreating and resetting their positions in the backline.
In fact, since he made his debut in the 2021/22 season, Elanga has attempted a total of 129 shots, of which 73 (56.5 per cent) have been with his right foot and 46 (35.7 per cent) with his left.
The difference in proportions - shots with his right foot compared with his left - is 20.8 per cent, this ranks him fourth-best of all two-footed shooters since his debut, a list that includes Antoine Semenyo and Son Heung-min.
Percentage difference in proportion of shots taken left v right foot
| Player | Percentage difference |
| Adam Armstrong | 12.2% |
|---|---|
| Son Heung-min | 17.5% |
| Antoine Semenyo | 18.7% |
| Anthony Elanga | 20.8% |
| Dan James | 21.1% |
| Stuart Armstrong | 21.3% |
| Jacob Ramsey | 25.7% |
*min. 50 shots since start of 21/22 season and with proportion of 35 per cent or higher of shots with both feet
Looking back at the goals he has scored since his debut, there are not many high-value chances that he has found himself on the end of. In fact, his underlying numbers may even make him out to be a less than average shooter of the ball.
In a small sample size of 44 shots, it is difficult to conclusively estimate what kind of a shooter Elanga will be in the long run. However, studying the placement of his shots more closely shows a great deal of promise.
Elanga's attacking threat 24/25
Click here to zoom in on image.
Elanga’s shooting style isn’t characterised by powerful strikes, rather intentional and well-placed shots that look to find the bottom corners most of the time. This is where his two-footedness also comes in to play. Take for example his goal against Man Utd at home.
Elanga's sensational sprint and finish v Man Utd
85 metres in 9 seconds. 😱@AnthonyElanga's finish against Man Utd is the Swizzels Sweetest Strike of the Season! 🍬 pic.twitter.com/463D7GtXPV
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) June 2, 2025
He started his run connecting with the ball ahead of his marker and prodded it along alternatively with both feet and as he approached the penalty area, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu attempted to close the gap to the left as that is how his body is oriented. Elanga, however, ultimately fizzed a shot past Andre Onana into the bottom right.
According to Opta, Newcastle were the fifth-highest for teams converting their high turnovers to shots, with 19.5 per cent of their turnovers further up the pitch resulting in attempts on goal. Forest were second behind AFC Bournemouth, with 20 per cent. With a potential front three of Gordon, Isak and now Elanga, teams will no doubt be paying extra attention to the spaces they leave in behind.
All in all, Elanga makes for a very sensible signing for Howe and Newcastle. Not only does he offer a variety of strengths in and out of possession, Elanga’s versatility means that he can be an asset on both flanks for the Magpies.