Manchester United could rotate the team for this week’s FA Cup tie against West Ham. After games against Barcelona and Newcastle, with Liverpool away upcoming, Erik ten Hag needs to utilise his squad.
One player who will be desperate for minutes is Anthony Elanga, who was not even named on the bench at the weekend.
United kept Elanga in the transfer window instead of sending him out on loan. So this FA Cup fifth round tie might be one where he gets a chance, at least as a substitute.
One Erik ten Hag won’t get from Elanga is sulking about being left out. His attitude has been praised by Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot.
Dalot praises Elanga
Speaking in an interview released shortly ahead of the Carabao Cup final, Dalot talked up Elanga’s approach behind the scenes.
The right-back told the club website that he is confident Elanga will seize his opportunities and praised his training performances.
He explained: “Anthony Elanga, for me, is probably one of the most professional guys that I’ve known since I started football.
“I also see a lot of myself in him in terms of trying to wait for the opportunity to come and show to everyone that you are capable of doing it.
“He never lost his way of showing everyone he is here to help and he is here to play and he’s been doing that every single day in training. I am sure the opportunity will come and he will be ready for it.”
Dalot’s comments are interesting because as he refers to, he has been where Elanga has, on the outside looking in.
The defender needed to go out on loan to regain his confidence and improve as a footballer, spending a season at AC Milan.
A loan exit is expected to await Elanga in the summer, but it doesn’t have to mean the end, as Dalot has shown.
This season there is plenty left to play for, and Elanga could yet have a say. It has been more than a year now since his last goal for the club, but in recent months, there have not been many opportunities.
He did provide an assist in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, and had a goal disallowed for offside in the quarter-finals.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
